Thought We Got Rid of Him...

Sometimes I'd rather be fishin'...

Victor's convinced New Toulouse' estate management that he's god's gift to timelords and their authority over themed private estates. They can have him, the police boxes which rez outdoors against covenant, and the RP category he's placed them under rather than Social (that alone is a slap in the face of New Toulouse).  The management didn't ask their own people to provide these for the community, only accommodated someone's personal roleplay.

They should be very proud of themselves that a bully with no interest in the populace or theme chased out one of its own to assert themselves.  Nothing says disconnect like four rezzers with modern and British structures at the ready.  Gabrielle Riel added him to the resident group and he never left. No, I don't know what he was doing there. One of the things I liked about NT was that he wasn't there. Then he was. You don't think he's a stalker? Suit yourself.  Personally if we never crossed paths again I wouldn't object.

I let the meter run out.  Someone I know needed more prims anyway.  I tried to get a journalist to hold off on a review of Maison Bleu, but he was insistent on posting it.

I'll still be there for the community.  Those who share a bond and true connection with the culture and its music dominate the New Toulouse.  A few places offered for me to play tunes at their establishments, so I won't be gone.  And of course I remain their liaison for the Aether Chrononauts during Relay For Life season.

I've learned the Aether Chrononauts have a perennial logo.  I made some clip art of it available to team members so that they can include it in some form on events/vendor textures - in a corner of the graphic or something.

I have been this close to making my own team for Relay For Life but for 3 things:

1. If I hadn't gone to Wildstar Beaumont there wouldn't be an AC team this year. There's an accountability I cannot deny. In fairness though he should have said there wouldn't be one instead of plucking someone unfamiliar with RFL to run the team.  That's hardly fair to anybody incl them. What would have been the harm if it took a year's hiatus? Still it's done and he went through a lot to find someone. We have a team thanks to him.

I want to say though the captains are very sweet and helpful, but I think they try too hard. The unique thing about AC is that it is comprised of disparate cultures, who work out whatever according to their own communities while contributing towards a single total. The only real place we have to synchronize our schedules is for RFL hosted events where the team works together. But they're learning. I think once the intimidation of the whole thing fades and they get more comfortable, they'll be fine.

2. The campsite. I'm not making one. Don't even ask.

3. A friend reminded me that the end result is the most important thing.  I must not ever forget that. If they just leave me be to do what I do and help the team by keeping members informed and equipped plus coordinating Teams R Us weekends lineups then it'll be good.

I'm proud to have brought on so many people, some new to Relay For Life. I couldn't do it with my own team. The objectivity would be gone. We'll see how this season pans out. I have a lot to prove after my experiences last year.

The first Teams R Us mini-gig is this Saturday: Kick-off Day. Have some team folks planned to provide vendors in addition to myself. Look for new shirts and Second Line Umbrellas :)  I'd have signed on for Cartoon World Gallery to have a booth in Fashion For Life but I didn't have the money to register.

Here's to more good times and helping people leave their bad times behind. GO RELAY!

Bullies and Bums

What a difference two weeks makes in Second Life.

It's now springtime on Skybeam. Beautiful. I always whine and say that winter is too short, then I look and say "Ahhhh"

Cordova Level Griefing at Dat's Placezzzz

We were griefed last week at the beach.  For some time this jerk in an insultingly stereotypical gay cruiser avvie would shove between a hetero avvie couple and lean against the male and start sweet talking during fishing contests around the grid.  He seems to have gotten away with it enough (thanks to incompetent fishing hosts, who think that they're being paid JUST to click a START button).  First time this happened I contacted the site's owner, who was shocked & considered giving his hosts banhammer access.  I told its victims that the snert wouldn't last long at Dat's or my places. 

Finally he came to Dat's last week when I hosted. I IMed him immediately that if he approaches them he would be gone.  He did his usual shove routine and went up against the guy. I froze him, then kickbanned him. Then he replied to my IM that he was done and he'd be good.  I told it that he sure will - from 45m away.  The result was an accumulation of self-replicating griefer balls outside the property, raining  down "Yif off, fur fags" posters on a quarter of the beach. Yeah I know: infohub noob griefer shit.  I just let everyone know how to turn off particles.

He then started to sweet talk in group chat, something 7seas Sass had been waiting for.  They were careful up until then about keeping antics out of 7Seas' jurisdiction. After that evening he was never seen or heard from again in 7Seas Social... Btw I think it's a female and I think I know who it may be. Obviously nothing better to do with themselves.

Witchwoods... New Toulouse... Musical Sims...

It is winter in Gabrielle Riel's new community.  For a week Carter's World Music show was practically lag free before more renters came on the sim.

One of my friends has a cottage by the sea w/cable

My discombobulated friend left New Toulouse last week with little word. Rumor is she expected an estate manager position and took her toys and left when it didn't happen.  Sigh... Illusory power... Thought New Toulouse meant more to her as a community. Guess I was mistaken.

I know from unqualified estate managers.  As I was looking around last week at witchwoods to see where assorted friends landed, I was accosted via IM in a manner not unlike from a territorial redneck.  Clearly someone didn't want my kind there.  Note that I said managers and not owners. Owners: nepotism only goes so far sometimes.

7Seas' Women Under Siege?

So what is it about females who are being victimized in the 7Seas community?  Second friend in a year told me that a lunatic tried to bully her from out of the blue to be his sextoy.  Could it be the same one who chased a mother of two from Second Life in 2012?  For sure the wrong one left Second Life! 

Remember when there was a G-Team?  Remember when a Linden Lab CEO cared?  Wtf is this "be my sex slave or I'll hack your account" shit?  A crime's a crime and this person needs to be taken offline and either into an institution or behind bars.  I told her you should have said you were an over-65 grandma and your husband just saw his chat." She laughed. We haven't lost HER yet at least.

New Toulouse en Fluxe

New Toulouse in its recent incarnation

Change can be tough, no doubt about it.

When you're steeped in commitment but have lost the spirit, what do you do?

You may plod on as best you can with what you have and hope it doesn't show. Perhaps you get your friends to take on some of the tasks which once energized you and which now feel like a dead weight on your back. Suddenly there's gravity in a virtual environment. Once you thought it was doable with everything else in your life.
Hey, it happens.

But say you've become attracted to something else. Another genre perhaps? You begin to feel that old magic again. If only you could unload the current project and start this one.  With all that you've learned and all that's going on in your life, you're confident it could all work out if things were done on a much smaller scale.

But no, you can't let people down. They rely on you. They look to you not just as a landlord or landlady but for guidance and the occasional dance party. This project is sustaining itself, so why break what doesn't need fixing?

Of course I'm projecting.  I couldn't begin to guess Gabrielle Riel's RL beyond what she's shared with us as her residents, and that's already a considerable hand dealt.  Add to that the virtual: running a series of web-based radio stations out of RadioRiel.org and the New Toulouse estate. This includes coordinating the past few years of Mardi Gras and hurricanes and monthly soirees and then some.

New Toulouse is an oddball theme in the great scheme of things Second Life.  It is presently 1912 there, which is post-Victorian and pre-Jazz Age.  It doesn't really fit it into Edwardian because it isn't British.  I'd call it early 20th Century Americana, only a lowdown Cajun-Immigrant corner of it. No illusions within the illusion.

Many residents like myself were attracted to it by way of a RL connection.  I was born in New Orleans.  A neighbor is into all eras of Jazz and hosts live talents regularly.  There have been Ann Rice fans establishing another kind of nightlife in line with her novels, and they've maintained a full residence in their cemeteries.

Radio Riel provides the soundtrack for many Second Life genres with a gamut of musical styles, among them Baroque, Dieselpunk (between the World Wars), gothic and experimental (aka Steampunk channel), and more.  The Steamlands appear to be Gabrielle Riel's affinity, with a presence each in Caledon, Steelhead and New Babbage, as well as sidetrips to Winterfell and Seraph City. 

Many years back when the owner put the estate up for sale, she took the plunge and saved the day.  New Toulouse had not only a dance hall for Radio Riel, it was Gabrielle Riel's domain.  A stream was added to RR's repertoire, the only stream named for an estate; it has been the perfect soundtrack.

Did I see signs?  Of course. Several on many levels. The most prominent of them was her decision to turn a discarded NT sim into the epitomê of gothic New England for an HP Lovecraft festival.  I knew the sim would remain beyond the festival and Halloween.  In November there were plans to rename it to Witchport, open it up to rentals and attach it to New Toulouse via a homestead water sim.  Many Taloosters and post-Lovecraftians expressed interest in moving over to early 20th century New England with options to visit via boat.

Witchport on a chilly winter morning

About three weeks ago came the news that she would be putting the estate up for sale.  Witchport would continue as a separate entity from New Toulouse: a much smaller project and better suitable to work harmoniously with her other projects and RL. If nobody took the estate over by the first of the year, the sims would be sold off one by one.

Naturally there was panic. I think we all looked around for an alternative, but we already knew that there was nothing like New Toulouse on the grid. Anything claiming any resemblance to New Orleans looked like a Linden Labs sim with stuff plopped on it. New Toulouse has a look and vibe which instantly transports you to a place, and no one's come close to that with this theme.

I got to thinking: If nobody stepped forward - not just anybody of course - there would be no Mardi Gras, no hurricane, no Madhu's Café. The latter would continue somewhere else; I frequented Carter's place before NT so that will live on wherever it ends up.

I asked one of the vampires. When New Toulouse Jardin (what became the Lovecraft sim. This was previously NT's upscale garden district) was decommissioned over the spring/summer, they moved off-theme to Skybeam. I've never warmed up to Seraph City and don't know of any other 1920s themed sims with lax rules on dress code.

With the holidays came word that about three potential buyers were in discussion with Gabrielle Riel. An original resident had been notified and stepped forward and would take over two sims: New Toulouse and New Toulouse Bayou. NT Ponchartrain and NT Bourbon would be sold off; one has since been claimed. New Toulouse Algiers would be renamed Witchwood and join Witchport to the south. Two friends will be making the transition there, one of them Carter.

With so many people interested in staying and others having departed, there has been a fair exchange in parcel ownership. The new owners won't be lacking renters once they install new meters. There were many times NT as a whole would have no vacancies. Most of the time one or two parcels showed yellow on the map, maybe an occasional cemetery plot.

Naturally change affects people differently.  With word of the changes I was pleased. We had answers and saw a future. With word of Gabrielle Riel finding closure with New Toulouse and friends riding a landmass to her new world I'm happy.  She's handled this fairly and been helping the new owners as best she can. Gotta give her kudos.

I'm a little concerned though for a neighbor who seemingly expected everyone from four dense sims to want to squeeze into our two, so much so that she asked those not associated with New Toulouse whether they found their new parcel yet.  She hasn't spoken to me since that day.  The neurotic in me suspects that she interprets my laid back behavior as non-allegiance. We had previously discussed the pros and cons of places we had both escaped from before coming to NT.  I don't want to see her turn into another "us vs them" type, and I'm aware she may be in shock and just need some time. Hopefully she'll snap out of it and get back to her old self, welcoming residents and visitors (including ex-pats) with equal enthusiasm.

IMHO nobody should be judged because they choose to keep their parcel in favor of relocation. They weren't any more or less of a resident. Everyone has their reasons for being where they are, and if somewhere else suits them or they came to NT because of Gabrielle Riel and her events, so be it. She's a very good landlady and maybe some want to continue being somewhere she's in charge. At any rate they're all welcome to my place. Nobody switches off an interest in music or art because they've moved. If Gabrielle Riel wants to hang out when I play 20s tunes that's just fine.  And she knows I'll continue to show up wherever she has a party going. If Madhu's is in Witchwood then you'll find me there on World Music night.

The only thing likely to deter me from continuing in the revised New Toulouse is how the estate is run. Naturally a certain estate buttinski would be grounds to leave if he were added as a manager. While this is far from their genre of interest, power IS a genre of interest unto itself and he'd be attracted to with claims of experience. Happily he hasn't been in evidence.

I was invited to groups these past two days. K.I.S.S. I always say.  People sometimes think an event or place needs a group for each minutia of topic (RFL SLB and Burn2 all suffer from Group Diarrhea). I've only ever belonged to one group for New Toulouse: The residents group. They have a website with an events section anyone can see. If they officially choose to keep the NT renters group apart from a social group and we're no longer allowed to comiserate in group chat, I can understand the change. If all non-residents are effectively ousted from the rental group and expats benefit from a social group, I'll join ONE of them. UPDATE: The latter is the case, and all former residents should join Gens de New Toulouse ;) .

But for now, New Toulouse is saved, new owners are experiencing a steep learning curve while Gabrielle Riel brings them up to speed while the map will remain in flux just a little while longer.

New Toulouse as of this morning.

RFL: All that scrambling for one day?

Other than the booth and the textures I  put together for it, the vendor items are merely the first of what the team has to offer.  We'll make more stuff and accumulate a nice collection of creations for donation throughout fundraiser season.

While I didn't have time to attend most of the Relay For Life Kick-Off celebration inworld, I did get a chance to tour the team booths in 3 regions before they were taken down.

Our kick-off booth in RFL Past. Minutes later 2 more contributors added vendors

There are more events coming up, and I'm looking forward to having a booth there again.

I was wondering where I could offer access to these vendors between RFL festivals?  It just occurred to me that the viewing area for the Atoll cross-country Giant Snail Races by Route 2 is perfect.  While theme appropriate vendors may appear in Maison Bleu and Cartoon World, I'll work out a couple of spots where they all can be, perhaps for all members of the team.

Something to think about.

In the meantime we have the 7Seas Fishiversary coming up.  Hard to believe it's two weeks from now.  The theme is silk.  This means textures,  some experimental.  Also more catchable Daleks, shirts and PJ's, and my first custom rods!

Do I bring back the purple Dalek or a new variation for RFL vendors?  I'm open to purplish suggestions.

Remember the team member I removed from my roster?  He started his own team.  That's awesome news!  Not only can he get first-hand info on what it takes and what is and isn't acceptable, it means a whole new group of people from his end who can do something for the cause.  So this has indeed worked itself out for the better!

This evening I'll put my RFL vendors out at the viewing platform.  That's just down the hill to the north beyond the fishing area.

Dakota & I pondering the purple blue box

More stuff for New Toulouse.  Another thing which has reached the top of the list. 

The Aether Chrononauts have a Time Traveller's Ball next Sunday.  I plan to be there.  Dress code is formal from any era.  I know exactly what to wear for it.  As a matter of fact, I remember exactly where I was the last time I wore it.  You'll have to wait to find out!

Mardi Gras in New Toulouse

Mardi Gras in New Toulouse was the best "weekend away" since the 7Seas FFF.  Fortunately or unfortunately I was too sick to pay visits to my parents, and so was stuck home for the weekend.  Except when I'm stuck home I am usually at liberty to explore marvelous places.

This time I was part of them.

For many years I tried to find a good way to celebrate Mardi Gras in Second Life.  First a stark sim of French Quarter style buildings with an automated trolley which listed events but had nobody around otherwise; got bagnettes out of it at least.  Three years ago I rented an audio stream for the first time to host a Mardi Gras party at The Golden Yak in the Linden winterlands.  The stream didn't work at event time for one neglected setting so I channeled WOZ, which I found inconsistent but served well enough.  That night Carter Denja hosted an awesome set of Cajun, Zydeco and early Blues at Madhu's Café back on its previous mainland parcel. That would become the place for me the following year, by which time the Café had relocated to New Toulouse.  Being unfamiliar and the sim situated away from the city's downtown, I was oblivious to what was going on nearby.

In the meantime I discovered New Toulouse and made moves to settle, eventually establishing Maison Bleu.  I've since discovered there is also a "Maison Bleau" to the west.  I have no idea what it is.

Anyway, my friends and probably half of fishdom know my dad fractured his ankle last month, leaving me and my recently diagnosed heel spur to visit both Mom on Long Island then Dad in a Queens rehab, all via public transportation (I type this right now while waiting for the Long Island Railroad to take me back to Queens, where I'll catch a bus to Flushing) .  Very little of my Sundays belong to me for the time being.   I would have liked to make a float for New Toulouse's Mardi Gras parade but there was just no time.  I did manage to make my place ready for Open House and a really fun placewarming party.  I know so many folks over the years since Madhu's, with the added perspective of being back in my birthland (I'm from New Orleans in rl) and enjoying a culture I never got a chance to get acquainted with in my first six years.  At least I got a chance to contribute toward it here, with the party and freebie Second Line accoutrements.  But being with nice people and enjoying their events and offerings in turn is the best part.  As with the best of communities, each has their own backstory but together share a an enthusiasm for the land, and - and this is where other places fail - a welcome hand is offered to any stranger as if they were a next neighbor.  Always a warm vibe here. Also there's no pretense on theme. It's lowdown and anything's possible, unlike the false posing and double standards inherent last year. I don't plan to see any drama drama in New Toulouse beyond role personae.

Next year I'll be ready when it's krewe time :)

Next pursuits: Fishiversary & Relay For Life. More on those next time :). The bus is making its final turn.

Revelers visit during Open House

The Fishiversary is A-Comin'

click to launch a detailed image

The diner's fishing area is a success. Giving back to the community during gaps between contests with a contest is serving its purpose. People enjoy the chalk, are working on capturing the trophies, and sometimes listening to the stream (I've started streaming during them).  With recent RL commitments demanding my Sundays, it's nice to squeeze one of these in after a long day.

Livingtree has relaunched at 8pm EST on Sundays, which was always this "what am I gonna do" limbo hour for me ever since Blaksleeworld ended, so now I get to fish there, then DJ at Bacchus.

Hey, fishing is relaxing.

And speaking of love-ins, the Fishiversary dates have been set and the theme announced (if not obvious to anyone with access to an anniversary gifts chart).  And my kinda party: a PAJAMA PARTY!  I have a lot of ideas for this one :) Won't have anything to do with diners though...

Poster by Meissa Thorne

A Krewe a Krewe! I'm in a Krewe! Watch this space for things Mardi Gras in New Toulouse...

Last but not least: Relay for Life. Teams start applying next week. I don't know what I'll do but I want to do more this year. A lot more. Dat wasn't sure yet what she has planned; the beach had their own team last year but somehow fell through the administration cracks and didn't get a parcel for the big event. So I don't know quite what will be, except a theme is definitely due.

New Year Mumblings about things Grid

New Year's Eve was busy busy, with THREE events.  First was New London.  I played Auld Lang Syne into the European New Year, the  handed the stream off to the next DJ, who rang in the UK.

Sunday night was interesting in New Toulouse.  They've grown considerably in the short time I've been there, and recently revisted the notion of a working railway for their northern sims, or so it appears. Seeing this and how it would affect my  location in Algiers, I checked out the other sims and found a perfect alternative in their flagship region.  I spoke with landlady Gabrielle Riel and in a short time was transferred.  Probably for the best as it will give them more freedom to terraform that area without restrictions.

Tuesday night they had teatime, which is basically a community meeting.  Nice to be in another of these :)

Meanwhile, I find myself in the equivalent of the French Quarter and closer to my roots.  And - let's face it - I'm a cityslicker at heart.  I'm in my element, and with more room (now that I've forfeit a porch).  I can include a sitting area etc. amidst a small gallery and a more ornate shop of knick knacks.


Will I still be able to call it Maison Bleu?  Who knows?  Maybe it should be called Tchatchkes or something. Update: Guess it's still Maison Bleu, thanks to the Moles' Nautilus City texture pack.

This is on the heels of a fishing area I'm planning for Hydrangea.  There are many times when there is no fishing contest and people are in limbo.  The Retro Metro is part of a group beautification project, with most would-be prim availability assigned to other builds.  It's not possible to add a contest board, contest pot or more chairs.  The alternative is hold it near the diner.  Even using my primmiest TARDIS console there's plenty to spare when I don't have a big build project planned.

So 77m up, I've drawn a kind of pool of chalk on the asphalt.  Tonight I'll have time to put down those growy chair prims, also drawn on the asphalt with chalk.  I have a contest pot prim somewhere that I bought almost 2 years ago after checking out the creator of Razzap's back on Blaksleeworld.  If it still works then great.  If it can be set to reverse payout then so much the better.  That means of the top 5  the fifth place gets the highest amount.  Custom trophies and a custom bounty would be nice.  And a custom level up prize maybe?  Yeh, all for impromptu contests.

 

 SL9B... I wonder what the theme will be?  I may be counting chickens but a head start would be nice.  With advanced warning I could schedule some more time and present more detailed art and builds instead of rushing. 

Which reminds me (speaking of things which delayed working on an exhibit last Jul-Sept), I have another surgical procedure on my hand scheduled next Monday.  It's been easy to function with the injury this time around since it's not as essential as a  thumb, but because I compensated so much in the summer, the middle finger's now affected.  Thing is the bandage will be right in the middle of my fingers.  Maybe I should make an appointment for the index finger while I'm there?  Took 2-1/2 months this time around.

iTunes, why do you thwart me so?  Most songs I look for are either nonexistent or sung by other people or on Karaoke collections.  I am stuck to purchase a CD for one song, which means I'll never get around to purchasing those kinds of CDs.  If only I could trade in my vinyl for the same things on CD at half price.  Except Japanese pressings, colored vinyl and picture discs.  They should yield higher return.

What a crazy weekend!

Toontown becomes more and more significant as Halloween draws near.  Sorry, you'll get that from a cartoonist/animator.  While I won't be making a new black cat this year, there will be hundreds of new kittens out in force next Monday morning, and I'll be around to help them.  Before that it's earning pumpkin heads on most of my toons while trick or treating the shops.  Difference being the jellybeans we get for  it are the local currency, and who knows what new accessories they have planned for the holidays?  Better save up now!

On Friday I restored my ongoing Steampunk fiction after extracting the posts from New Babbage's site. I've made it a general scifi-time warp story, which releases me from any restraints.  It's up to entry 10 at http://holosteampunk.blogspot.com

Saturday in New London is a fun party to host.  The staff and regulars are a wonderful and sincere people.  Whovians just want to have fun.  The Steampunk theme went over very well.  I should have it again in a few months... heat up the winter...

Which reminds me. New Londoners have encouraged me to take a look at their Guy Fawkes exhibit. They feel I'm a pefect candidate since I'm a "Fawkes Virgin."  That and they know if I'm not sure of something I'll ask, and if like it, they know I won't be bullshitting them :)

My friend Tindy had a rezday party hosted by the Giant Snail Races folks (Safra & RacerX w/DJ Baldi) which was held under the sea. Gave me a reason to wear flippers and Racer to blow up a big birthday cake.

Sunday was full of adventure.  First, after investing in some nice housing textures and running a few through Photoshop, I finished the modified shack (as well as reduced its primcount).

There was the biweekly partay by the river in New Toulouse Algiers, this time for Halloween.  With the big Estate sale going on, Gabrielle Riel was inspired to waive purchase fees for land in New Toulouse.  Apparently a 512 had opened up that morning, so I grabbed it for 1L and chucked in 2 weeks' worth into the meter.  And plopped down Maison Bleu. After FFF I'll be making stuff for it :) Some free, some extremely cheap. Maybe some art too.

So yes, I'm now a Talooster too :)

Weird Al's 52nd. Edward Pearse had the Radio Riel Clarendon dance hall decorated with stuff and offered free accordions and twinkie weiners (gak). A celebration wild horses - or delusional goats - couldn't keep me away from.  Realized how many wonderful people I missed from New Babbage.  Well, we'll always have the Clarendon...

After that it was time to go into Halloween Mode and put on this week's pallor for Bacchus on the Beach.  Yes, it's true we all got out instruments on Friday night and air-jammed to Dat's music.  We didn't this time around, but it was still fun.  Somehow I earned bait and a small Linden prize for fifth :)

Pondering my Halloween playlist and anticipating some CDs to come in from Amazon via 2-Day Air.  I think Halloween Party is plenty for a theme - let people interpret that any way they want. The best avatar is the best avatar :) Their unltimate moment of self-expression.  It kicks off on TARDIS sim at Greenwich Park from 1:45pm SLT next Saturday the 29th.

(PS: Pictures will be added this evening when I get home)

Hurricane Bernadette

 Well that was interesting!

New Toulouse was hit by a hurricane over the weekend.  I missed the bulk of special effects by the time I heard about it, and arrived while the place was flooded.  I managed to hitch a ride on a roof that was adrift.  Several people sat on crates while it navigated through the flood waters in search of survivors.  At one point a couple of us heard what could have been snoring.  We were told it was zombies. 

Uh oh.

We drifted past the Jardin district, which is set on higher ground and was largely unaffected, but hitting the main sim and Bourbon the shops and homes' first levels were submerged and goods damaged.  One artist refused our offer of a dry roof ride in favor of lamenting her ruined paintings.

Then gunshots.  We were near the cemetery.

Oh boy.

I was given "essence of broccoli" and advised that zombies hated vegetables.  I went a step further and wore a pumpkin on my head.  I extracted a gourd shooter from my inventory.  Then I headed back to the Bayou. 

Being a hologram has its advantages.  No need for an oxygen source comes in handy in flood waters.  I walked the perimeter of the Bayou and Algiers but heard no zombies.  With the waters all murky I probably would have hit a moaning local anyway.

The waters have since receded in New Toulouse.  Other than one casualty of sorts everybody was accounted for.

I'm a little curious though why the New Babbage Marines were represented in the cemetery fight if they exist in another century?

Anyway I was tipped off that there was a video account! So take a look

Mock Stardom for Ninety Minutes

Summer & Lightning

So this is what it's like to be a mock star...

The ELO show went surprisingly well, even though - yes - my hand missed the fret bar like some spaz noob  avatar.  You know I even took the lowest common denominator route and wore tight jeans, just in case.

Heh.

I have to say the New London folk were very kind and turned a blind eye from the primcount of the instruments. Mayo - a neon fur space wolf - was just awesome on drums while coaching the crowd into a frenzy.  Jayne managed the lights while she played synths, guitar, and violin.  I ran the stream, controlled the weather (successfully) during certain songs, played two styles of guitar, keytar, and piano after Jayne & I played dual snares for the opening introduction (Drum Dreams).

It all went perfectly. I was shocked with how well it went actually, but certainly not complaining.  Would I do it again?  Got a year to think about it.

As for the saucer, there was no time to make a "serious" build, so I went with something that looked more like an inflatable object and added a little valve to it.  Other than the actual ELO logo the rest of the textures were original ;). I put two levels of tour shirts in it and a dance umbrella as freebies.

Of course in the end the most important thing was the music.  I put new songs, old songs, "previously unreleased" songs, with instrumentals at both ends to allow for much green chat.

 Ticket to the Moon

Lol we even had a stage diver who had to be removed.

All in all a great time. With it out of the way I got to check out the other events like the SL Cheerleader Squad, "Elvis", Wellzy's awesome Ska party, and a few others.

If you attended the ELO show, thanks for coming and hope you had a great time!

It was also a weekend for things in New Toulouse, including an old jazz/big band party on Sunday afternoon.  I'm really feeling comfy there. I guess I shouldn't have tried to fit into something so ill-suited for me with New Babbage. NT is more my speed and it's a part of my heritage.  Annnd tonight is Madhu's after my DJing at Bacchus.

btw fair warning: I got me a few new CDs of stuff I only had on vinyl, so I'll add some of the songs to Bacchus and New London playlists :)

A Blog Post in Search of a Title

Relay for Life weekend.  With my involvement in the New Babbage campsite build trashed (apparently  *not* due to any Amishesque shunning), I've dropped hints about participating in the relay itself (which I've wanted to do since Dr Fran told me there was an actual relay) in a public forum, which have thus far gone unresponded to.  I gave their RFL team captain the benefit of the doubt that they could have been too busy to come back after the first post and accosted them by IM.  I want to parricipate. It's been a day and no word.

I'm also handing the computer over to Snurky Saturday afternoon for a Tiny Snail crosscountry on the Relay For Life sims.  With Tindallia Soothsayer's help they have a course.  Please give Tindy kudos when you see her. She makes the trophies, co-designed the home track (the good parts), built the SL8B parcel for them, planned the RFL course, made the tiny snails available for a donation to race this weekend, and more I know I've missed.
I'm 99% sure where I'll call my home for a treehouse.  A 2-way interview went on yesterday and I showed the estate owner my choices of prefabs.  Confirmed that any boughs extending into common land would be fine.  A common sense covenant and a diverse, active community - but not isolationist or separatist.  Here we are all wearing RFL purple (as always clicking will show a fullsize picture):

Won't count New Toulouse out yet for other things.  I still like the idea of having a shop of prints, only not where I can see banlines.  If that were fixed in New Babbage then their landscape wouldn't be reduced to the look of a cheap mainland parcel.

How does one enforce quiet catch for a 7Seas fishing area?  Is this now an option on the server?  I know: rtfm

Home Hunt Front

Unlike the fiction I've been serializing, New Babbage proper does not have a patch resembling a residential district.

I took a close look at New Toulouse's covenant.  It wouldn't be the right place for the sort of treehouse I have in mind.  Otherwise seems very nice: themed but not role play, similar to Bay City in that respect.  Don't know about the prospect of a zombie hunt though...

Even before the owner of New Caledon expressed animosity against Bay City, I had seen their estate and it didn't appeal to me.  Someone suggested Winterfell, but aren't they reputed to be dark or gothic?  I'm so not that. Update: they aren't from that era. More knights and dragons and the like.

I visited some of Antiquity this week.  It didn't seem as though their sims were structured like a cohesive community.

Maybe it's just not the era to look to for a Victorian treehouse?  That could be!

Well when I get home (writing this while waiting for the LIRR to arrive)  I'll join the last half of the Clarendon event then work on those portraits for New Babbage.  Wonder if they'd be interested in auctioning them off to give to the winners at the end of the big RFL event? 

I think maybe some protein first and foremost when I get off the subway near home...