I've got both bad news and good news for Bay City.
First the bad news: Dellybean North has left, and with her a lovely Art Deco structure in Falconmoon. (Actually I'm keeping the Pineapple Building there until I'm ready for maneuvers)
The good news? I own that parcel now, right on Gershwin Boulevard. This was a street I named, so this location holds much significance for me as well as a bit of a triumph.
Will I sell my first plot or turn it into a park? Well, I'd really like to get my money back. Then again I could create a permanent buffer between myself and that godawful spinning adfarm sign that cheapass character put next to Oona Opinion's place.
The new place appears to face an old church across the boulevard. I suppose it's an intersection of landmarks if I include the Molexandria excavation site.
I starting to wonder if my Atomic Age style is out of place for that block? Everything else seems to be an elegant 20s-30s' style.
Any opinions?
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Avoiding the Suckage Pitfall
Shmoo brought up Tron the other night when I showed him the concept poster. It's funny; Tron never crossed my mind. However it made sense that it came to others'.
I'll tell you why this isn't like Tron. First of all, Tron was about someone who existed in a representation of what someone deluded was a computer environment. This wasn't about people in an alternate dimension or cyberspace. Other than Flynn, the other participants were not people - there or anywhere.
Tron just wasn't such a good film. Disney banked on the computer graphics to carry a limp story. People were attracted by the goth darkness, the neon colors, and the notion that a computer did all the effects and graphics. And lest we forget the light cycles. By the way, those neat glowy stripes on their suits weren't computer generated.
I can't say how good my comic will be since that's a subjective judgement which may vary from person to person. However things that suck tend to lack some basics and thought put into them, and my comic won't have fallen into those ruts.
Will there be clichés? The concept is already a cliché. So is the notion of dropping a popular fictional character into any locale or scenario familiar to the author. I'm like a mad scientist and love to mix and match, then see what happens. I'd like to think I can do it better than what's come before.
If you want to get philosophical about it, everything's been done before. The successful stuff just had more thought put into it, perhaps were the culmination of a few of the right things combined in just the right way. I've certainly had time to think about this and covered most angles by asking myself a barrage of questions. Shmoo asked some; I had quick answers to as much as I was willing to divulge. I thought that was pretty good for a start. Certainly as I work on the project, more things will firm up.
I'll tell you why this isn't like Tron. First of all, Tron was about someone who existed in a representation of what someone deluded was a computer environment. This wasn't about people in an alternate dimension or cyberspace. Other than Flynn, the other participants were not people - there or anywhere.
Tron just wasn't such a good film. Disney banked on the computer graphics to carry a limp story. People were attracted by the goth darkness, the neon colors, and the notion that a computer did all the effects and graphics. And lest we forget the light cycles. By the way, those neat glowy stripes on their suits weren't computer generated.
I can't say how good my comic will be since that's a subjective judgement which may vary from person to person. However things that suck tend to lack some basics and thought put into them, and my comic won't have fallen into those ruts.
Will there be clichés? The concept is already a cliché. So is the notion of dropping a popular fictional character into any locale or scenario familiar to the author. I'm like a mad scientist and love to mix and match, then see what happens. I'd like to think I can do it better than what's come before.
If you want to get philosophical about it, everything's been done before. The successful stuff just had more thought put into it, perhaps were the culmination of a few of the right things combined in just the right way. I've certainly had time to think about this and covered most angles by asking myself a barrage of questions. Shmoo asked some; I had quick answers to as much as I was willing to divulge. I thought that was pretty good for a start. Certainly as I work on the project, more things will firm up.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Pre-Comic Ponderings
It's mostly internal and therefore undetectable. Creative output would show the change in some cases. Aside from planning my Burning Life project, I'll be focusing on my comic. The time is right I think.
I've thought about this all very carefully: as a fan, as an inspired artist, and as a comics professional (yes, I still see myself as a comics professional):
- Will this comic fit within the current Dr Who timeline? Yes. Anything can happen during a quick trip to the moon & back. Further in my favor is The Doctor's skewed sense of time; this trait was touched upon a few times over the course of Series 5 (this year). God Bless Steve Moffat. The man has a visionary's eye.
- I've mention to a couple of friends I wanted them to be in the story. No objections (cleared some questions with one to their satisfaction). I don't think I'll use their names though (or full names), just their personifications and my perception of how they represent their subculture. Also anyone depicted offline will be fictional avatars. There are two characters who are fictional, one a villain inworld and RL.
- As much as I think 3D Glasses are cool, The Doctor won't be wearing them. I have to remain objective to make the best story. That would have been cool though...
- The story will predominantly take place on a grid like Second Life but will not be called Second Life or mention Linden Labs or the Lindens.
- The Doctor... Who could possibly trademark that? I've repesented another "The Doctor" for over a decade. He's The Doctor in my comic too.
- Given the endurance Dr Who fandom, I'll ASSume that the BBC values the free advertising that comes with allowing fans to freely exercise their creativity - like Paramount does with Trekkies.
Case in point: About ten years ago, Marvel bit themselves in the ass by requiring fan pages to register by postal mail or fax; on approval the "lucky" fan would receive a limited collection of acceptable images to use. Other feeder biters over time have included Disney, Children's Television Workshop (Sesame Street), and United Features Syndicate (Peanuts etc). And don't get me started about YouTube.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Countdown Sequence to Regeneration
I've been here close to ten years.
I've followed a conflicted existence in virtual life, being a fantasy creature while avoiding role play groups like the plague (refer to Trek Sim personae in I, Holodoc; I've paid my dues). But Voyager landed and it was time to explore culture and just get immersed into what the world had to offer. Any world.
Anyway, after having mastered everything from donning armor to play a game of acronyms, battling the VP of the Sellbots, curing drama queens, and the bunny hop, it was time for a tune up.
Having many theories about time of my own, you'd think I'd have warmed up to Dr. Who long ago. I knew of it during the Tom Baker era. I think most people here in the USA did. Back in the late 70s it was on WOR Saturday mornings. I know because I saw the vortex thingie and end credits before watching local wrestling ("...and Ivan Putski: the Polish Hammer!"). Well, the 3 Stooges weren't airing during that era here. Standing in line for a convention with round fans in long scarves speaking in painfully fake British accents was another put off early on; I just wanted to get some commissioned pieces from comic artists.
When I finally moved out and acquired an old High School friend for a roomate, I endured watching Tom Baker Dr Who's with her. She had to watch them. Still not sure if it was because she liked them or she was taking notes for her video production class. Gawd awful effects on video for an insufferable half hour. And those lame daleks! They made Tobor the Great look like ILM. ugh! ugh! ugh! Eventually she watched the one in a sweater... whatsisname? Peter Davison? It wasn't much better. As I recall the episode aesthetics seemed more sterile from the previous era, but it was still a cheap production and annoying.
By the late 80s I was selling esoteric stuff at Creation Cons with a friend. We would trade off who we'd see while the other minded the table. The big deal at one was another doctor starting up. Some Sylvester guy. He made an appearance at the con. Seemed like a nice enough fellow, but I couldn't compare him to Tom Baker; this one looked more like someone on a fishing trip than an eccentric time traveler.
When she moved on, so did my proximity to anything Dr Who. I had by then quit professional comics and stopped going to conventions, and even for the latter I hadn't attended as a spectator for years.
I ran into a Christmas special last year. I didn't care for the actor playing the doctor. I thought he had limited skills for an actor. The other guy who thought he was the doctor was better. I thought: "Whoah - they're doing these on film now," but featuring a race of crush kill destroy robots.
Oh bruh ther
They had to go and ruin it with an eyeroller foe.
Twitter was all a-twitter about the end of that doctor earlier this year. Oh yeah? I thought if the next one was any good it might be worth watching. Boston Legal was long gone, Warehouse 13 was done for the season and left viewers with an amazing cliffhanger, and I couldn't get into 24 or Stargate Universe. I was open to something.
I watched the end. Gad what a STOOOOOOOOPID story with everyone on Earth turning into an excessively hyperactive lunatic and Timothy Dalton - who killed his career's momentum when he accepted a role in the Rocketeer - spitting out melodrama. The doctor was like Wile E Coyote: jumping out of a space ship, smashing through a glass ceiling and slamming onto marble. He got up after that. Ohkayy...
The whole regeneration thing was new to me. Regeneration means different things to someone who trained with Starfleet. All I knew was that it was an essential process for Borg physiology and something my friend Sevhen did. I hadn't realized through all those years and doctors there was this vehicle to include their distinct changes as part of the plot.
For those reading who aren't familiar with how this works: Dr. Who is about an alien who travels time and space with haphazard regard; he follows no set Temporal Prime Directive. He's lived over 900 years by regenerating when he either reaches the end of his physical lifespan or is seriously wounded. Either can trigger the process where his body undergoes a transformation. The results are random; he can return as any age. With a new body of course comes new chemistry, and with it new senses and a new mindset - with a lifetime of memories intact.
Traditionally the body of the departing actor lap-dissolved to the new one at the end of a season, leaving fans hanging to see a full story with the new person a long while later. Fans lost their tenth doctor with a fireworks show that destroyed his place. The shock of a new face they had to speculate over for almost a year. For me it would be another hour before the opening episode aired here.
I skipped some documentary about the first ten doctors. I didn't want a burden going into this. They had already cleansed the legacy's palate for me. I went fishing at Blaksleeworld I think for that hour.
Eleventh Hour, the new doctor's first episode, was amazing. Just amazing. Clearly there was a new writing team at work. And the mold was broken; this had to have been as far from Dr Who it could get in my mind, and I was sold. I could easily have gone to see something like this in the theatre.
At first it seemed to have America's failings, with jumps in the plot and unaccountable changes. I learned later that about 25% of the episode was cut for commercials. I eventually saw the episode uncut. Even more amazing.
This actor Matt Smith: don't let his youthful looks fool you. He traversed the gamut this season and proved himself. There are many elements to the series' premise which appeals to me, and the "companion" the doctor's chosen is so different from anyone he had tagging along with him in the past. Amy Pond seems like real stuff for a change (dynamic, neurotic...). The few times the writing dipped (daleks automatically earn an eyeroll from me), it has still been better than most of what's out there. And then there are those little details in each episode which lend themselves to the main story arc of the year. This is tight. Like Back to the Future Trilogy tight. Everything is important.
I've had the advantage of seeing the rest of the year. The USA is still 3 episodes away. Then comes major deprivation for everybody until next spring. Fortunately there's the return of Warehouse 13 this week to cushion the shock. I'm glad I finished one before moving on to the other, particularly since they're scheduled opposite eachother on Tuesday nights.
For the most part I still snub the legacy and have a hard time associating with it. In a YouTube video taken last spring, they showed diehard fans in their scarves. They looked like they could have been the same people from decades back, and they were very serious. SCARY!!! I've seen filler episodes with David Tennant (#10) and saw one episode with doctor #9 whom I found quite good, but the plots from those years were all hard to rise above, even with exceptional performances (and as nice as a guy Tennant seems to be, I truly wasn't impressed with his doctor). That's ironic coming from someone who has come to side with the series. With season 5 it's become a long lost twin, the yin to my yang, the doctor to my doctor. I can't fly a tardis to save anyone's life, but that's okay. I have temporal mechanics on my side.
The energy the series left me with though has brought me to a place I haven't been to in a very long time. I will be making an announcement about this at my party tomorrow night (Friday the 9th at 2pm SLT. Look for the pink events star over Hydrangea, then get your coordinates from the police box by my diner).
For this party, I'll be hosting the music myself. This is a personal, almost spiritual day.
Whether you're a fan of the show or not, a party is a party. The announcement will be related to Dr Who, but not require anyone to be a fan to appreciate or enjoy what is to come. You won't be disappointed.
I've followed a conflicted existence in virtual life, being a fantasy creature while avoiding role play groups like the plague (refer to Trek Sim personae in I, Holodoc; I've paid my dues). But Voyager landed and it was time to explore culture and just get immersed into what the world had to offer. Any world.
Having many theories about time of my own, you'd think I'd have warmed up to Dr. Who long ago. I knew of it during the Tom Baker era. I think most people here in the USA did. Back in the late 70s it was on WOR Saturday mornings. I know because I saw the vortex thingie and end credits before watching local wrestling ("...and Ivan Putski: the Polish Hammer!"). Well, the 3 Stooges weren't airing during that era here. Standing in line for a convention with round fans in long scarves speaking in painfully fake British accents was another put off early on; I just wanted to get some commissioned pieces from comic artists.
When I finally moved out and acquired an old High School friend for a roomate, I endured watching Tom Baker Dr Who's with her. She had to watch them. Still not sure if it was because she liked them or she was taking notes for her video production class. Gawd awful effects on video for an insufferable half hour. And those lame daleks! They made Tobor the Great look like ILM. ugh! ugh! ugh! Eventually she watched the one in a sweater... whatsisname? Peter Davison? It wasn't much better. As I recall the episode aesthetics seemed more sterile from the previous era, but it was still a cheap production and annoying.
By the late 80s I was selling esoteric stuff at Creation Cons with a friend. We would trade off who we'd see while the other minded the table. The big deal at one was another doctor starting up. Some Sylvester guy. He made an appearance at the con. Seemed like a nice enough fellow, but I couldn't compare him to Tom Baker; this one looked more like someone on a fishing trip than an eccentric time traveler.
When she moved on, so did my proximity to anything Dr Who. I had by then quit professional comics and stopped going to conventions, and even for the latter I hadn't attended as a spectator for years.
I ran into a Christmas special last year. I didn't care for the actor playing the doctor. I thought he had limited skills for an actor. The other guy who thought he was the doctor was better. I thought: "Whoah - they're doing these on film now," but featuring a race of crush kill destroy robots.
Oh bruh ther
They had to go and ruin it with an eyeroller foe.
Twitter was all a-twitter about the end of that doctor earlier this year. Oh yeah? I thought if the next one was any good it might be worth watching. Boston Legal was long gone, Warehouse 13 was done for the season and left viewers with an amazing cliffhanger, and I couldn't get into 24 or Stargate Universe. I was open to something.
I watched the end. Gad what a STOOOOOOOOPID story with everyone on Earth turning into an excessively hyperactive lunatic and Timothy Dalton - who killed his career's momentum when he accepted a role in the Rocketeer - spitting out melodrama. The doctor was like Wile E Coyote: jumping out of a space ship, smashing through a glass ceiling and slamming onto marble. He got up after that. Ohkayy...
The whole regeneration thing was new to me. Regeneration means different things to someone who trained with Starfleet. All I knew was that it was an essential process for Borg physiology and something my friend Sevhen did. I hadn't realized through all those years and doctors there was this vehicle to include their distinct changes as part of the plot.
For those reading who aren't familiar with how this works: Dr. Who is about an alien who travels time and space with haphazard regard; he follows no set Temporal Prime Directive. He's lived over 900 years by regenerating when he either reaches the end of his physical lifespan or is seriously wounded. Either can trigger the process where his body undergoes a transformation. The results are random; he can return as any age. With a new body of course comes new chemistry, and with it new senses and a new mindset - with a lifetime of memories intact.
Traditionally the body of the departing actor lap-dissolved to the new one at the end of a season, leaving fans hanging to see a full story with the new person a long while later. Fans lost their tenth doctor with a fireworks show that destroyed his place. The shock of a new face they had to speculate over for almost a year. For me it would be another hour before the opening episode aired here.
I skipped some documentary about the first ten doctors. I didn't want a burden going into this. They had already cleansed the legacy's palate for me. I went fishing at Blaksleeworld I think for that hour.
Eleventh Hour, the new doctor's first episode, was amazing. Just amazing. Clearly there was a new writing team at work. And the mold was broken; this had to have been as far from Dr Who it could get in my mind, and I was sold. I could easily have gone to see something like this in the theatre.
At first it seemed to have America's failings, with jumps in the plot and unaccountable changes. I learned later that about 25% of the episode was cut for commercials. I eventually saw the episode uncut. Even more amazing.
This actor Matt Smith: don't let his youthful looks fool you. He traversed the gamut this season and proved himself. There are many elements to the series' premise which appeals to me, and the "companion" the doctor's chosen is so different from anyone he had tagging along with him in the past. Amy Pond seems like real stuff for a change (dynamic, neurotic...). The few times the writing dipped (daleks automatically earn an eyeroll from me), it has still been better than most of what's out there. And then there are those little details in each episode which lend themselves to the main story arc of the year. This is tight. Like Back to the Future Trilogy tight. Everything is important.
I've had the advantage of seeing the rest of the year. The USA is still 3 episodes away. Then comes major deprivation for everybody until next spring. Fortunately there's the return of Warehouse 13 this week to cushion the shock. I'm glad I finished one before moving on to the other, particularly since they're scheduled opposite eachother on Tuesday nights.
For the most part I still snub the legacy and have a hard time associating with it. In a YouTube video taken last spring, they showed diehard fans in their scarves. They looked like they could have been the same people from decades back, and they were very serious. SCARY!!! I've seen filler episodes with David Tennant (#10) and saw one episode with doctor #9 whom I found quite good, but the plots from those years were all hard to rise above, even with exceptional performances (and as nice as a guy Tennant seems to be, I truly wasn't impressed with his doctor). That's ironic coming from someone who has come to side with the series. With season 5 it's become a long lost twin, the yin to my yang, the doctor to my doctor. I can't fly a tardis to save anyone's life, but that's okay. I have temporal mechanics on my side.
The energy the series left me with though has brought me to a place I haven't been to in a very long time. I will be making an announcement about this at my party tomorrow night (Friday the 9th at 2pm SLT. Look for the pink events star over Hydrangea, then get your coordinates from the police box by my diner).
For this party, I'll be hosting the music myself. This is a personal, almost spiritual day.
Whether you're a fan of the show or not, a party is a party. The announcement will be related to Dr Who, but not require anyone to be a fan to appreciate or enjoy what is to come. You won't be disappointed.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
I've been a bit distracted lately.
It's affecting both my real and virtual lives.
In a way this is good. My food intolerance test steered me clear of foods that were slowly killing me, and the weight has been coming off. No, I don't look like some fanboy by choice. Not from walking 1-3 miles a day and no binges. Most of this truly isn't me.
Vitality kicked in for the first time in years this past weekend. I can't say my body's ready for things I haven't done in years; I'm not about to join the office's softball team. And it remains to be seen whether I just need an adjustment in my thyroid medication...
To stay in Manhattan after work is a compelling prospect for me, but with no friends left in the NYC area there's little to do to make it worthwhile.
I'm floundering here. I've discovered new things and I want to incorporate them into my SL persona. I wonder who beyond my SL friends (the ones who already know about this) would get the joke?
I realize there were elements of this fed into me for decades in a subversive manner. I suppose the time had to be right for them to activate like wild molecules. They have, and life won't ever be the same.
Something will be happening soon inworld. It may be subtle. It may be accepted as "the joke." It may be missed. But whatever it is, I'm making it all myself because resources simply do not exist in Second Life. That being said, once it's happened, I'll have to decide whether to keep it my own or share the work for a substantial Linden windfall on XStreet.
That last part sounds so wrong, but someones out there may be in my situation and need what I'll have.
In a way this is good. My food intolerance test steered me clear of foods that were slowly killing me, and the weight has been coming off. No, I don't look like some fanboy by choice. Not from walking 1-3 miles a day and no binges. Most of this truly isn't me.
Vitality kicked in for the first time in years this past weekend. I can't say my body's ready for things I haven't done in years; I'm not about to join the office's softball team. And it remains to be seen whether I just need an adjustment in my thyroid medication...
To stay in Manhattan after work is a compelling prospect for me, but with no friends left in the NYC area there's little to do to make it worthwhile.
I'm floundering here. I've discovered new things and I want to incorporate them into my SL persona. I wonder who beyond my SL friends (the ones who already know about this) would get the joke?
I realize there were elements of this fed into me for decades in a subversive manner. I suppose the time had to be right for them to activate like wild molecules. They have, and life won't ever be the same.
Something will be happening soon inworld. It may be subtle. It may be accepted as "the joke." It may be missed. But whatever it is, I'm making it all myself because resources simply do not exist in Second Life. That being said, once it's happened, I'll have to decide whether to keep it my own or share the work for a substantial Linden windfall on XStreet.
That last part sounds so wrong, but someones out there may be in my situation and need what I'll have.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Be the Pie
After my experience at Burning Life and the obvious antipathy of the organizers for the general populace of participants and eagerness to corrupt the integrity of the project, I told myself I'd never invest too much of my soul and energy into a project again for an SL event.
That's not to say I wouldn't participate or make anything interesting when I did. I'd make something I'd feel is worthwhile, only it wouldn't require a dozen hand-drawn paintings or a daily event presented in obscurity while the staff freely promoted events outside the designated arenas run by themselves or their friends - or endorsed by corporate influences.
I have a very Screw It attitude going into SL7B as names like Doctor Gascoigne intrude on the landscape while a group chat opens. Other names like White Lebed and Harper Beresford have countered the flow of bile, but are they enough?
The attitude of some staff, pushing exhibitors to come up with promo material well before the deadline underscores their bias against creations made for the event in favor of those plopped down from a preexisting project or location. Their obvious disdain for people not successfully working inworld fulltime or running their own businesses is hard to conceal in their syntax (I took off two days so I could translate sketches made during my commutes into prims).
I hate them.
But I love Second Life.
I love the good people of this world.
I do what I do for them, for that amused twinkle or chuckle.
I will never let you down.
I like to think I learn from the mistakes of others.
For The People I have made Me, Ourselves & Pie. I believe it is the most faithful project with regard to this year's theme of accidental collaborations. It relies on the randomness of visitors, who may be compelled to wear either the raspberry or strawberry suit offered beside a giant pie. When they run and jump around among the blueberries they make the pie complete.
I can hardly wait for the party Friday night!
That's not to say I wouldn't participate or make anything interesting when I did. I'd make something I'd feel is worthwhile, only it wouldn't require a dozen hand-drawn paintings or a daily event presented in obscurity while the staff freely promoted events outside the designated arenas run by themselves or their friends - or endorsed by corporate influences.
I have a very Screw It attitude going into SL7B as names like Doctor Gascoigne intrude on the landscape while a group chat opens. Other names like White Lebed and Harper Beresford have countered the flow of bile, but are they enough?
The attitude of some staff, pushing exhibitors to come up with promo material well before the deadline underscores their bias against creations made for the event in favor of those plopped down from a preexisting project or location. Their obvious disdain for people not successfully working inworld fulltime or running their own businesses is hard to conceal in their syntax (I took off two days so I could translate sketches made during my commutes into prims).
I hate them.
But I love Second Life.
I love the good people of this world.
I do what I do for them, for that amused twinkle or chuckle.
I will never let you down.
I like to think I learn from the mistakes of others.
For The People I have made Me, Ourselves & Pie. I believe it is the most faithful project with regard to this year's theme of accidental collaborations. It relies on the randomness of visitors, who may be compelled to wear either the raspberry or strawberry suit offered beside a giant pie. When they run and jump around among the blueberries they make the pie complete.
I can hardly wait for the party Friday night!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Joining the Races
It was entirely by coincidence. During my diner's debut party in April, GoSpeed Racer detected & called out to RacerX Gullwing. He was in the neighorhood because that following Saturday was a crosscountry snail race for Relay For Life, and the route passed the northern portion of my land in Hydrangea.
I made a viewing platform, complete with refreshments, deck chairs, a donation kiosk from The American Cancer Society, and a Treet TV video screen.
The stand populated quickly, as it was located close to the starting line. There was a certain thrill about the event, and the vibes rose when the first eyestalks could be seen around a bend. The snails passed us - huge things - their shells rezzing into a variety of colors and all wearing the RFL logo.
Some flew on to the next viewing area on the list while several stayed. We continued to watch live coverage of the race from the web and comment inworld. It turned out that many people I knew were in the race, including that day's winner. It also looked like a lot of fun, and I decided that Snurky would test the waters for me in the May crosscountry race for Relay For Life.
The May RFL race was a mess for me. While trying to reposition an onscreen camera HUD the low view became disoriented (actually I saw inside of the snail's neck) and opted for eyestalks view. I also made a point to bring the draw distance down, which prevented a cannon from rezzing to be shot out of. Still I ended in 13th and smack in the middle of the standings. Not bad for total greenness. Their struggling with Snurky's name made me reconsider that - while she doesn't get out much - this pursuit wouldn't be for her.
Because I would pursue it either way.
Even as a loser - and were there really any losers in a fundraiser? - it was great fun.
Many were very eager to give me pointers on catapult jumps and other treacherous obstacles on their track ;)
After making what they thought was an impressive debut despite technical issues (I had set my network numbers low instead of high; the scoreboard took half an hour to rez for me to click and join the race), and 4th place in a repeat of April's RFL route, I'm definitely going to continue as Holocluck.
Yes, even though they can't pronounce my name either.
Then again, they can't pronounce about half the names in the lineup, so I shouldn't take it personally ;)
This continues to be great fun. And they're very nice people. All the more reason!
I made a viewing platform, complete with refreshments, deck chairs, a donation kiosk from The American Cancer Society, and a Treet TV video screen.
The stand populated quickly, as it was located close to the starting line. There was a certain thrill about the event, and the vibes rose when the first eyestalks could be seen around a bend. The snails passed us - huge things - their shells rezzing into a variety of colors and all wearing the RFL logo.
Some flew on to the next viewing area on the list while several stayed. We continued to watch live coverage of the race from the web and comment inworld. It turned out that many people I knew were in the race, including that day's winner. It also looked like a lot of fun, and I decided that Snurky would test the waters for me in the May crosscountry race for Relay For Life.
The May RFL race was a mess for me. While trying to reposition an onscreen camera HUD the low view became disoriented (actually I saw inside of the snail's neck) and opted for eyestalks view. I also made a point to bring the draw distance down, which prevented a cannon from rezzing to be shot out of. Still I ended in 13th and smack in the middle of the standings. Not bad for total greenness. Their struggling with Snurky's name made me reconsider that - while she doesn't get out much - this pursuit wouldn't be for her.
Because I would pursue it either way.
Even as a loser - and were there really any losers in a fundraiser? - it was great fun.
Many were very eager to give me pointers on catapult jumps and other treacherous obstacles on their track ;)
After making what they thought was an impressive debut despite technical issues (I had set my network numbers low instead of high; the scoreboard took half an hour to rez for me to click and join the race), and 4th place in a repeat of April's RFL route, I'm definitely going to continue as Holocluck.
Yes, even though they can't pronounce my name either.
Then again, they can't pronounce about half the names in the lineup, so I shouldn't take it personally ;)
This continues to be great fun. And they're very nice people. All the more reason!
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