Mutual Nontreadance

You know, I'm sick and tired of having agendas pushed on me that go against my fundamental beliefs or practises.  I'm also sick and tired of people who have the nerve to object because I do not follow THEIR fundamental beliefs or practises.

The art crowd in NYC - when there still was an art crowd in NYC - were comprised of a range of individuals as diverse as a typical SL show & tell audience.  It truly was.  But we got together to discuss comics, what so n so was up to, who was going to San Diego or Angouleme, pass around sketchbooks, xeroxes, or the occasional printed comic or graphic novel.  At the end of the evening he went there, she went there, they went there...  It was a non-issue.  Maybe a piece tied into heritage (like this awesome project Howard Cruse showed us that became Stuck Rubber Baby - there, I namedropped someone) but nobody pushed an agenda, be it to convert to their faith or to badger someone to their lifestyle regardless of what it was.  

Sometimes show n tell audiences are more awesome than the presentations

That's what makes the current gay marriage controversy so stupid: one tyrannical culture deciding how everyone else should live, love, and file their taxes.  No one is asking anybody to go gay or force them to like what others like as consenting parties, and nobody's demanding they watch (it wouldn't be consensual any longer, would it?).

Some people in Second Life confuse the issue.  They feel they have the right to do whatever they want anytime or anywhere they get the urge.  There may be a million places which welcome this, but they can't get off on it unless it's in front of or with someone non-consensual.  This can be construed as a form of griefing btw, and in RL it's prosecutable as harassment in many places.  If I want that experience, I'll pursue it thank you.

I do not get involved with any aspect of slavery, bondage, or confinement. It's not fun or funny to me, and it doesn't serve as any sort of outlet borne of a repressive faith or relationship. My RL and online heritages involve histories of struggle to rise above such circumstances and to be counted as a valid member of society. When on my property, everyone is a free soul and an equal among others. If that troubles people then - as I always say - SL is a big place. Maybe mine wouldn't be for you. No hard feelings. We're all here for different reasons.

When I started hosting sporadic fishing contests, the "No Slavery or Bondage Please" condition was met by a lot of drama by someone who just wouldnt shut up about her being some member of some S&M group. Well that's fine but not on my land. And saying it after a giggle every time I posted my event in group chat was just rude.  Too bad  she couldn't just wear a buttplug under her clothes like RL ones sometimes do and be done with it - and just fish. Cut the drama crap: If you don't want to come to my little parcel in the middle of this massive grid because people are equals there, it's really no trouble. Everyone has a choice and you can't be everywhere.

So we come to someone who I approached as an organizer of an upcoming festival. "Oh we'll have this and that and this and that..." so far so good. But then they went into Jail n Bail.  There's nothing wrong with Jail n Bail - for other people. It's not for me. It attracts attention and raises lots of money for charity. That's very good. But saying it wasn't for me and that my persona has a history of confinement and I don't like to think about it, that it's a cultural thing etc - none of these were enough. Instead of telling me about other things I could look forward to at the festival, they pushed and dug - and twisted - about how great Jail n Bail was going to be and how so n so was going to be there (presumably jailed for a fee) etc. They wouldn't let up. That really was way over the line. I asked them if they could please change the subject and they abruptly said I should contact them by notecard from now on. I told them it takes all kinds to make a world and respect works both ways. Her response suggested I offended her for not wanting her to go on and on about jail and bail.

I was disgusted and disappointed with someone I thought better of. They are since no longer an organizer. And you know something? For a change I have absolutely no regrets. They probably do this to others who take it instead of speak up when they're offended. But really: You shouldn't work with diverse groups of people if you lack empathy or cannot respect others who may have a different perception of fun than you, or that one person's fun may be another person's persecution. You need to listen for that. The point of big festivals for mixed crowds are that they have much to offer for people into different things.  Tap in, not dig in.

At a Cuckoo's Pace

Okay, taking a big deep virtual breath...

A day with no deadline save a playlist for tonight.  Ahhhh

It's been crazy!  As some of you know, about ten days ago while helping my team with participating in the Home Expo (I still haven't seen any hunt cupcakes  beside ours whenever I pop in) and making some purple flat guitars for BYOG, I got an IM from some curator about hosting an exhibit of my work for June.  When looking back on that log, it's absolute chaos between fishing at the beach, speaking with the team and the Expo contacts, being directed to and speaking with IFT organisers for a team booth at an upcoming Star Trek convention, and the art show invite. btw I must have done something right; I occasionally see 25L pass through me from someone clicking my hunt cupcake.

When some of the smoke cleared and I could focus on the offer - while planning the next RFL event, writing a 100-word story for Crap Mariner and pondering both SL9B and the upcoming RFL campsites - turns out I was already in installation week!  They cleverly had a mirror building in the sky for the next artist to place, then bring their pieces down enmasse once the current one vacated.  Given the number of pieces to scan throughout the week after work and other things each evening, I never got a chance to use it.  Everything was in place less than one hour before the opening.  This included notecards for every level to explain the pieces.

A peaceful calm at night in the empty Fruit Islands art gallery

 Then that other curve thrown a week earlier: "Who would you like to play at your reception?"  I'd been to enough in RL to know there would be one for me.  Just not used to all the attention; artists seldom are. And we're bad with praise.  We don't trust people who praise us.  We don't know whether they're just being nice. 

Sometimes it's the most simplistic comments that earn our trust. "I like the pictures of the movie stars," someone said.  They didn't know me and looked with a clear mental palate at what they saw.  We trust strangers and their gut reactions.

But I'm ahead of myself.  A building plus a lush garden for my use.  A tipjar and a Relay For Life kiosk, plus a gallery show shirt for a modest minimum donation to RFL. 

The Eggphitheatre demands attention on the landscape, parked in the garden just outside the gallery. As she had during Burning Life 2009, GoSpeed Racer set up her DJ station beneath it for the reception.

A modest turnout.  Considering it was a holiday weekend I've no complaints.  GoSpeed knows what I like for music; last week marked three years I first hired her for my own gallery's opening in Bay City. It was neat to have this all arranged for me.

For those unfamiliar with these happenings: yes, that was an opening.  Don't throw out the landmarks.  The gallery has my art for the next few weeks.  Other than a comic set as a slideshow on a prim, everything else is new and never seen before on the Internet, including an additional one-shot comic.

I want to thank Lizzo Dreamscape for inviting me to the Fruit Islands Art gallery and her patience while I addressed everything in turn those first few days.  Please visit I Sing the Body Projected when you can.

Also: look for Snurky to host MadLibs in the Eggphitheatre a few times to raise money for RFL.  It's what the egg was made for: to rewrite history.

That night I hosted Mersey Mersey Me! A dance party with early Beatles and influenced bands including The Spongetones, Utopia, The Rutles and ReBeatles Projekt, as well as some others.  It was a great turnout and people had fun. We raised some more for Relay For Life, closing in on the US$500 mark.

Mersey Mersey Me! winds down after sunrise.

Speaking of re-writing history and people who do it with a passion, it seems some karma has caught up with everybody's notorious drama queen.  Looks like Victor's left the Katrina team - picked up his toys and headed for another sandbox so to speak.  Of that, the expo is his and he's taken it to his teen Who sim. Nodster has a pissed off but sufficiently cryptic message for a profile; I was going to express my genuine condolensces on the sim shutting down but god knows what transpired. Only those directly involved would know for sure. No doubt there will be a blog post about it, and I'm sure Victor will find some way to work New London into it.  Speaking of which: guess which sim has welcomed Dr Who fans the longest in Second Life?  Better be nice to them; you can't have sucked and been around for over four years.   

The info came from out of the blue when Vicki posted a notice about it in the Trek group. No, it didnt seem on topic to me either.

Anyway things come and and things go.

Next: Snurky's MadLibs, New London's Jubilee Jamboree (w/the reprise of BYOG) and SL9B

Are You Supporting the Businesses You Think You Support?

Meanwhile, when my fingers permit there's finishing art for Who shirts to sell in New London.  Left hasn't quite gotten over the op and cannot hold fast onto a drawing board just yet.  The right hand may have developed carpal tunnel.

Apparently SL9B is on.

Ever since that brownnosing hack posted BS about New London and showed how shallow he was by playing the whole Guilt By Association deck - and by his behavior I'm sure marks regular intervals on his calendar to remind him when to troll them anew in his blog - I've wanted to get these folks to show residents first hand that they're a good bunch.

While other group chats remain a source for spreading rumours perpetuated by you-know-who, New London has consistently taken the high road and actively discouraged bashing rivals in chat.  TARDIS brands each have their pro's and cons as they offer a range of perspectives of what an immersive experience should be.  NLS has one which Second Life residents have enjoyed for over 4 years; you don't stick around that long if you suck or don't have decent customer support.  Yeah I know said hack accused THEM of that and the bashing-in-group-chat biz in his blog as well as hits at me and Archangel based on little contact with either of us. But that's the point of why he's bogus and just an expensive rabble rouser. 

It's funny writing the start of the above paragraph earlier this week on my way home from work, then just afterwards learn that some big baby and mega-yapper in Hands of Omega's product support group chat had taken to griefing New London as of last week with the aid of Hands of Omega police boxes.  I rolled my eyes over their behavior.  How asinine. They don't have a "Resident" surname so legally they *should* be of age for several years now and should know better.  Obviously they don't know much if they use a product they tout as a weapon for griefing.

When the first boxes showed up on their sides in random locations in New London on Saturday I did a wtf doubletake.  HoO owner Sen really needs to state the obvious and make some written disclaimers.  I know he's a good guy but these idiots are ruining his company's reputation by using his forum to generate griefing and harassment and rile up people in a very negative way.  A product should speak for itself and not rely on goons to beat up or harass the competition, but allowing this to continue in HoO's name has put them in a poor light. There is no "I won't act because I didn't do a thing personally" when one's company reputation is on the line and their products' most visible uses are as objects for griefing.

Meanwhile New London is too busy managing their own sim. When one focuses on events and helping others versus planning mudslinging campaigns and more ways to grief using other people's builds, there's no time to commit for an expo. They're not the only ones among my estate affiliations who put their all into their investment. They all clearly have something better to do with their time.

Busy Being Purple

A rare shot while in my TARDIS' Trophy Room

Yayyy Us! We got the Bronze! A great start for a new team! We were actually US$30 from Silver at the time, so that's one valuable medal.  Earlier the morning Halfway There awards were handed out, we kicked off events in the Purple Sky Dome for Paint SL Purple week (and then RFL promptly ignored the venue for a weekend we didn't hear about LOL).

Purple Sky Dome for RFL

We were well received, with a couple of vendors and team mates participating (a third had temporary computer probs - whew!) and selling purple stuff with me. We had a good time with very nice people.

There are a lot of events coming up from Hearts & Souls.  Look for vendors from us at the Relay For Life area of the Home Expo, as well as stuff by us in an expo-wide hunt!

This Wednesday Snurky Snoodle will be hosting a short hour of Mad Libs at the Starship Diner at 5pm SLT.  Important documents about Second Life are missing key words.  She needs YOUR help to put them together.

On Sunday from 7am SLT I'm back at the Purple Sky Dome for BYOG aka Bring Your Own Guitar.   I'll be playing songs from the 60s to 2000s which have serioso riffs that are hard NOT to air guitar to.

Contrary to the event's name, I will have hand-drawn "flat guitars" available for a modest donation in a vendor and put out an extra danceball with MoCap guitar animations for the event.  Accompanying us on drums will be special guest Mayor Mayo of New London.  The problem I have with this one is that 2-1/2 hours of music was picked out for it. I don't think I can take off more than 30 minutes, which means I'd better do something about having my 90 minute slot extended somehow. LOL if all my worries were that simple.

Anyway, still, have to set up other guest events and more DJ events.  And get those darned sit targets done for the diner!  Remember: You can't aim and sit on a prim on a Blue Steel server.

The Tribulations of Public Transportation & Dealing with Griefers

Next stop: home.  If I can see dad after work tomorrow, I can be home by 8ish, no problem if I prepare my playlist today.

I'm listening to a Jonathan Coulton song I havn't heard in some time, and I know that's going in.  I think if I made a playlist about drugs and getting high, it would sound very different from others' - things  like "Mama Told Me Not to Come" by Three Dog Night... It's always amusing when drugs and alcohol are okay content but crude words about sex aren't.  I got nailed for having included "Asshole" by Denis Leary on my St Paddy's playlist. 

Indian woman w/baby panhandling and appealing to the females.  I wonder whether her husband put her up to this? Her appealing just to the females suggests either he beats her in coersion or she escaped his abuse.

RHCP.  I need to be careful with which songs of theirs I put on my lists for Bacchus.  Listened earlier to Ain't Misbehaving by Louis Armstrong.  Need to play that at some point.

Next day...

Last night's playlist had those plus "Steppin' Out" by Tony Orlando & Dawn.  I remember saving up to get "Tony Orlando & Dawn's New Ragtime Follies" for Mom on Mother's Day when it came out because she liked their version of "Sweet Gypsy Rose" and ended up enjoying the album as much as she did.    Someone went "omg."   It's fun when I unlock happy memories long forgotten.  It's very rewarding when that happens.

Next day...

I went to see Dad after work, so at 7:39pm I'm on a 7 train waiting to leave Main Street.  As planned I got roast duck with bok choi over rice (the latter which I can't eat) for $5 to take with me.

I should be home a little after 8pm if there's no delay enroute. I'll then be at liberty to make a new playlist... after I rip my new Don Tiki CD.

The Snert Problem at Bacchus

We had some disturbed snert at the beach who was estate banned.  Four names and up for debate whether it was all one person.  They used to be a regular fisher, when one day, twenty minutes before the end of the contest, they seemingly flipped out.  They said demeaning things to a female avatar in a very manic tone.  Everyone else stopped talking as he scared them. I was with my friend that night after DJing while her ailing husband was in a nearby hospice, her first night to herself but no easier. We lost him the following day...

The day after that, raw from not one loss but two - a good family friend died in his sleep the previous week - not one but two snerts started in. Twenty minutes before the end of the contest, he and some chick I barely remember from 2011 as an SLKid traveled by 10m to dance into me.  There's just so many times one moves aside and they persist that one cannot deny it's intentional.  They moved into other fishers who may have been idle, but still that wasn't very nice.  I asked each to be respectful of other fishers and not to shove into them like that. Regardless of what anyone may say, the two of them responded similarly enough by IM to convince me they were one person. Then she said more. something like: "it's SL people don't know how to have fun," that I was a loser, then incoherent stuff giving away that they were either drunk or high. They moved on me again as all throughout this I took screenshots of their behavior and IMs, ARing them and preparing a report for beach management.  With the contest over everyone moved on to the next contest except her.  She continued to dance on me while I filled out the report for Dat and linked to some screens on Flickr. More proof of alts as the sun went down half an hour later and stepping away she continued to dance where she was. Busy fishing in another window I reckon.

He got himself banned from another place the following day and dared not show his face the next 3 nights.  He came for half a contest on Friday as Dat hosted, then left.

The next night when I DJed, twenty minutes before the end of the contest, someone output green text about how bad I looked as though I said it. 

The following night the green text was that I wanted to come out of the closet (quite sure because of the purple I wear this season for Relay For Life. I'm not offended; I just pity them).  We knew who it was but there was no proof.  Yeah it sounds like entry level griefing to me as well. Infohub stuff usually done by minors.

Meanwhile he was getting caught throwing his chat and getting reprimanded or banned by more and more fishing areas.  Dat caught him one night speaking for his female avvie and warned him.   I had by then been given parcel tools and discussed how far to let the idiot go and how much proof to collect.

Subsequently that following Saturday, after a week of either not showing up or showing up for a few minutes and leaving, things happened. 

After my time in Livingtree, I relogged then went to Bacchus.  There were four avatars in Boy Next Door look, the two plus others I didn't know (one I'd seen fishing in the past).  They were milling about near contest host Dallas amongst themselves, but the moment I rezzed the four all came to stand close on four sides.

I took a screenshot of my desktop.

I moved a ways. 

I took a screenshot.

One at a time they turned in my direction and stepped again over to surround me.

Screenshot.

I stepped back and said anyone surrounding me again will be kickbanned and will have to explain to Dat why they feel she should let them back in.

Screenshot of warning.

Screenshot showing three of them surrounding me and one hanging back.

one-two-three kickbanned

Friend came on - first time since her husband's passing and we set up to dance.  Remaining one came against us
"ban me too"

Bruh ther.

I said something to the effect that they did the right thing in backing off and not to ruin it by harassing us and to please step away. 

They stepped away.

Eventually she went to join the others 80m+ away to fish from the far half of the sim.

During the time that followed, an oddly dressed noob with a 2007 rezdate came on to stand near me and my friend while we danced, then left after 10 min.

Logs and screenshots were emailed afterward - including threats from one who implied something terrible would happen to me (what? Copybot me? Like I'm comprised of anything valuable or unique) and was promptly ARed.

All I got by IM from the main one was: "your an idiot"

Heh.

To be on the safe side I changed my password.

From what I understand all four were estate banned; it wasn't appreciated by Bacchus people that they still fished from outside the banlines.  Two of them finished on the board that night, and stats are sent by the contest board to its managers via IM.

I got the least tips that night since I started DJing there.  Right or wrong, people don't like  violent maneuvers.  I've learned long ago that it takes a special person to not turn away if a crime is being commited or someone is injured, abused, or needs any kind of help.  Maybe taking responsibility against griefers with whom everybody was acquainted was too intense (while their abusing me and others wasn't a problem since it wasn't directed at them). 

The female av apparently pulled a dramatic pose a few evenings later in 7seas social chat.  Since I've muted them all I have no idea what she said except that apparently she annoyed everyone for spamming over and over about leaving fishing. 

The main one's apparently come back a few times to the beach under different names.  We often see fku2 Resident show up for a few minutes then leave.  An impotent twit who burns bridges.


Kickbanning is not a pleasant thing to execute for most people.  At work I've actually created documentation for global site teams on what steps to take on trolls on our message boards. Very few of them involved banning. However these would have been banned far sooner.  But I won't ever forget that it's not my beach. 

That this all came at such a tough time in my life and those of my friends was the usual test against Murphy's Law, only kicked up a notch. 

The numbers at Bacchus have noticeably dropped and someone suddenly started a contest opposite during the week. People again show how forgiving they are of bullies and terrorists, perhaps less tolerance for those who stand up against abuse and a management who wants a griefer free environment.

Anyway, I have a couple of playlists to get done for today. Onwards and upwards.

Time & Space Dance Party Today!

Time to Party!

Kicking into full gear for the season with events.

First up:  Time & Space Dance Party in my TARDIS Wed May 2nd from 1pm SLT.  If there's enough interest I may hold an encore sometime for USA evening. I changed the desktop theme of my control room to allow for enough space to dance.

Look for our booth during Relay For Life's MayDay weekend on the 5th & 6th. The team will have lots of neat stuff for donation, much of it with a medievel theme.

Another event in New Toulouse isn't out of the question in May.

Guest readings and classes are planned for the Starship Diner and other locales. 

I'm trying to get Snurky involved; she's maintained neutrality when it comes to team affiliations and effort, but she's fully capable of hosting some cultural events as well. Kudos to her for winning 2nd place in the cross-country Giant Snail Races this past Saturday in Sansara.

More About Tomorrow Wed the 2nd: whomever was your Doctor, there is a shirt for you :) At only 35L each, it's not difficult for most people to collect them all, with all sales going to the American Cancer Society.

A Moment to Appeal to Your Hearts & Souls

I'd like to take this moment to ask for some positive energy to be sent my team's way.  A member who's undergone treatment is having surgery today.  If all goes well during the procedure, it will be smooth sailing thereafter.  It's the nature of the procedure and what they have to remove that I bring this up.  Thinking good thoughts and envisioning happy,  healthy people can only help.