Saturday, December 26, 2015

Looking Back on 2015 in Second Life


  

The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared. 

Lois Lowry

 

 

          Yes, that time of the year has rolled around once again!

          When I prepare my last story for the year and look back on what my year in Second Life (SL) was like.  (Significant Other walks away saying once was enough!)  This is my time to see what I’ve accomplished or not.  Then to reflect on it.  (You’ve been warned!)

          This year began for me shortly after the loss of someone who was close to me in Real Life (RL).  I wanted to be more positive and upbeat because of this.  It would have been too easy to slide into despair and negativity.  (Kudos for Significant Other’s help here!)


          Trying to be positive, my primary goal for 2015 inworld was to be less of an obituary for closed sims and to focus more on the communities there. 

          Other goals were to keep my series like Sex and the Single Avatar going, try to meet someone from Antarctica, experiment with social media, and most importantly, have fun! 


          How’d I do?

          Well, even if I do say so myself, pretty good! (Significant Other always said I have a healthy ego!)

          Some of my highlights were blogging more about people helping other people inworld, I got a job, wrote about maintaining balance inworld and who are our friends in SL.  Not only did I continue series like Sex and the Single Avatar and Erotic Art in Second Life but I started a new series, The Great Castles of Second Life. I also kept current with all the happenings with Perryn Peterson and his crew over in Mieville.  My readership on my blog is up thanks to social media.  And, I finally met someone from Antarctica who visits SL regularly! 

          There were many more great people with great stories too! 

          What did I miss?

          Not too much in my opinion!  (Significant Other is still unsure if my glossing over the
negatives is a good thing.)

          I still haven’t made my voyage across the seas inworld but my excuse is my crew jumped ship on me.  (We won’t explore Significant Other’s question about why they jumped ship.)

          Overall, I feel I had a good year in SL having fun and I hope my readers enjoyed my journey as much as I did!  I went to new places, met new friends, and had new experiences!  (You’ll have to read my blog for all the details!)

          I’ll still be blogging as I go forward and another story will tell about my plans for 2016 in SL!   

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life
please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!
 
 
 

 

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Where Does Your Road Lead in Second Life?


 

I am much inclined to live from my rucksack, and let my trousers fray as they like. 

Herman Hesse

  

          Winter draws nigh where I live. 

          The long nights with their deepening shadows tend to make me somewhat more introspective than usual.  (Significant Other’s eyebrow arches on the words “than usual.”)


This time I take to wondering where do all the other wanderers in Second Life (SL) head off to in their journeys. 

          I know my reasons for wandering inworld.

          Wandering in Real Life (RL) is no longer practical or desirable.  (Significant Other nods approvingly.  Sometimes I get it right!)  But, I do love the journey for the sake of the j
ourney and I enjoy scribbling about my travels.  (I even have three loyal readers who enjoy reading them too!) The lure of new places, new friends, and new experiences is always there for me.

          Ergo, I wander inworld!

          Of late, I’ve begun to wonder about the others who travel the highways and byways of the Grid never calling one place home, never leaving anything behind but memories of themselves.  Are their reasons for journeying similar to mine, are they different, why?     

          Wandering in SL is a very solitary occupation.  Yes, you meet others as you travel about but generally they tend to stay where you find them.  As in RL, they have commitments that keep them tethered in one place.

          The people of whom I write are not those who come to build, or role play, or join a community but those who yearn for the open road like I do.

          So, I’m going to ask those who travel across the Grid like I do to write me with their stories about why they wander, or meet up with me inworld. Better yet, why not come with me for part of my journey.  (I still need a crew for a voyage across the seas of SL after my
last crew jumped ship on me!)   

          As I wander across the Grid, the old saying, “Not all who wander are lost.” Always comes back to me.  While different from RL, SL still gives me that experience of wandering without a map.  (I ignore Significant Other’s comments about knowing that experience as well.)  Many of the people whom we would meet in our RL travels are already here inworld.

          Why not come out and join us?  

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life
please click here.


          Open roads and kind fires!

 

Saturday, December 12, 2015

How Different from Real Life Is Second Life?


 

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. 

Albert Einstein

 

 

          After some recent wanderings in Second Life (SL) and meeting with friends, I stopped to think for a bit.  (Yes, this is always the part where Significant Other begins to worry.)

          Yes, I know!

          Thinking can be dangerous especially for those inclined to get so caught up in their thoughts that they sometimes forget about Real Life (RL).  (OK, maybe Significant Other
does have a point.)

          Spoiler alert!

          In this story, as I do every once in a while, I’m going to meander with my thoughts and maybe even get a little philosophical.  (OK, maybe it’s more than every once in a while.)

          I’m going to kick around the idea that maybe, just maybe, SL is not all that different from RL for many of us.  (Significant Other rapidly leaves the room.)

          I’d like to start with my friends inworld.

          I have several.  Whether or not I have many is subjective so I won’t go there.  (But, there are more than my three loyal readers!)

          Among these several friends of mine there are some whom I’d say are very good and close friends. (Have no worries, I’m not going to out anyone!  You’re secret is safe with me.)

          The remainder of my friends are those whom I met for a story, or people whom I once was a fellow traveler with briefly across the Grid, or sadly, those whom have just disappeared and have never been seen again.  I wish them well wherever they are!

          Are these friends any different from the ones I have in RL?

          We talk about many of the same things in both worlds.  OK, a few like nudity and
BDSM are probably reserved for inworld alone.  But, my point is we have common interests which we discover while conversing.

          We worry about one another.

          We share our RL ups and downs, sharing just enough to give a sense of our issues but keeping the RL details private. 

          Most importantly, we help one another out.

          Like those who are helping a SL friend obtain a service animal in RL and raising funds for diabetes research which are just two examples.      

          Then there are the communities that we form and join inworld many times around our RL interests. 

          Some are faith based like First UCC who have a mission to the LGBT community in RL, others like Relay for Life are formed to help the fight against cancer in RL, and some,
like Beau Belle’s, are there just to bring us together socially for music and dance. 

          Why do we do this?

          For a variety of reasons, maybe we care, or we’re lonely, or we’re interested in things that we’d never do in RL. 

          Maybe whom we are in SL is not all that different from whom we are in RL. 

          Yes, there may be some experimentation inworld, but we’re still the same person that came in with is from RL.

          I go back to what one wise old avatar once told me shortly after I first rezzed into SL.  He said to remember that behind every avatar is a real person with real feelings.

          I think that just about sums it up, don’t you? 

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk
with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life
please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!
 
 

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Helping Others in Second Life VI – The Fight against Diabetes


 

You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you. 

John Bunyan

 

 

          As my three loyal readers know by now, I’ve been assisting XMarieX (“Marie”) Fairport, a friend in Second Life (SL) who lives without her Real Life (RL) disabilities inworld. 

           Marie is also trying to raise money for a service animal to help her with her diabetes.

          During the course of my time with Marie, I became increasingly aware of how the SL community is organizing to bring awareness and dispel the myths of diabetes which afflicts almost 400 million people worldwide with more being added each year.  Fundraisers for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) are also held. 

          One group that I’ve encountered which is leading these efforts is Team Diabetes of Second Life. 

          In conjunction with Windlight Magazine, a new and upcoming magazine that is focused on the arts in SL, Team Diabetes of Second Life is pleased to announce the first
annual Windlight Winter Art Show & Winter Showcase to benefit diabetes research!

          This event will take place from December 7th to December 14th and will include seven days of live DJs, performers, tribute concerts, art exhibitions, contests, shopping, a hunt, a gingerbread building contest and more!

The hunt is a Christmas Tree Ornaments Hunt! 

Scattered throughout the Winter Art Show & Winter Showcase are pieces of a Christmas tree. From ornaments to presents, can you find all sixteen pieces? All hunt finishers will win a huge prize pack that contains many presents!

          Details about times and locations can be found on their website. 

          Please come and enjoy yourselves!

          If you can make a donation so much the better!

          If not then still come and show your support by being part of the community during this festive time!

          I’d like to thank Marie for helping become more aware of the sufferings of those with diabetes and how it can affect their lives!

          I’d like to thank May O. Mingzi for informing me about the Showcase!

          Finally, last but not least, I’d like to thank Johannes1977 for taking the time to answer my questions and supply me with the materials for this story! 

          Happy Holidays to all!

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life
please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!

 

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Erotic Art in Second Life (Part II) – It Might Get Nude


 

 

Nakedness reveals itself. Nudity is placed on display.... The nude is condemned to never being naked. Nudity is a form of dress.

John Berger

 

 

          Recently, I received a notice from Fanny Vermont, a friend in Second Life (SL), about  an exhibition she was having inworld of her work.  

          Fanny and I go back to my days when I was wandering around !Naked! working on my stories about nudist resorts in SL.  (Don’t roll your eyes with me, these are the stories
that bring you back!  Admit it!)

          Needless to say, Fanny is comfortable wandering around SL nude. 

          Fanny is also a photographer and the exhibit she invited me to combines both her interests.

          Her exhibit, entitled It Might Get Nude is a collection of nude self-portraits.

          Always being interested in the arts inworld (I ignore Significant Other’s comment about especially when everyone is nude while rejoining with who suggested I go about nude inworld in the first place!)

          I schedule an interview with Fanny to discuss her work and the exhibit.

          Our plan is to meet at her apartment and then proceed to the gallery hosting her exhibit.

          (For the record, we’re both dressed!  And if you plan on visiting the exhibit, please dress.  It’s required!)

          A little about Fanny before we proceed onto her work.

          Fanny’s first foray began with role play on a Gorean sim inworld. 

          While there she met a friend who introduced her to getting by in SL.

However, after a couple of months she felt “locked” there.  It was a very closed society and they did not like people to be elsewhere than on the Gorean sim when they were online.

And so, sooner than later, Fanny left to explore the Grid. 

Fanny laughs as she tells me how she stumbled into a porn movie circle in her incarnation inworld. 

She explains that there were some nice and interesting people among the crew but she did not play in one of their movies except for one time as a dancer in the background. 

In addition, there was a relationship which ended badly and Fanny finally ran away from SL to have a break. 

(Trust me, SL can be as hard on relationships as RL can ever be!) 

But after a couple of months Fanny felt the urge to come back again. 

She was curious to see more of SL.

And Fanny decided to restart with a new avatar.

With a flourish she points to herself and says, "And voila, it's me."

(For the record, Fanny has done a great job with her new avatar whether dressed or undressed!)

Fanny doesn’t know why, but it turned out that she once again started in the "sex corners" of SL. 

(No snide comments about that’s all there are inworld!  Read some of my other stories and you’ll see!)

 Fanny continues saying It didn’t last too long before she met a guy who then showed her the !Naked! sims.

Fanny moves on from her life inworld to begin to talk about her exhibit. 

Fanny is interested in photography in Real Life (RL) as well and also likes nude photography.

For her, it's always a bit like "back to the roots." Roots in the meaning of that we are not born with clothes.

Her RL experience with nude photography is pretty much finished as Fanny explains it's not easy to find models or, well, models who would do it for fun as opposed to cash.

The name of the exhibit, she explains, is based on the name of the RL documentary movie It Might Get Loud.

A nice understatement right in the beginning of a conversation among three guitar players of well known bands gives the title, and yes, it gets loud, Fanny laughingly tells me.

And, as the exhibit might get nude, well, you know the rest! 

Fanny takes a step back and begins to tell me about her creative process for her exhibit.

Fanny had an opportunity to do her work at the Medici Virtual University where she first thought she would use the small space for a gallery of her “stuff.”

But it didn’t take long before she thought to herself, "And what exactly do you have worth to be shown in a gallery?"

This is when her creative motor seems having gotten the kick it needed to get started.

I ask what motivated this “kick?”

Fanny replies that it was motivated by building, or as she corrects herself, her way of building.

Fanny explains that she is picky with things, working on details, etc.

I mention that all her models are women and she laughs while replying that she hopes so because they’re all her!

Next, I ask why there are no men or other women in her photographs?

Fanny’s main reason (if not the only one) is that she creates her own poses to get her hands and feet where she wants them to be and she means exactly where she wants them to be.  (She did say that she was picky!)

Continuing, she says that when she plays the same pose/animation on different avatars wearing different shapes you will notice that a pose/animation only looks perfect on the shape it was made for. 

I note that Fanny’s work is sensual and erotic while being artistic instead of hardcore, and ask if this is another deliberate choice on her part.

Her reply is that she does have some hard core images too, but have not shown them in public and she says that they don't lack art either but there are lots of hard core images available already and the circle to show them in public gets smaller.

She wouldn’t be able to show them in public other than at adult rated places. 

I ask which photograph in the exhibit is her favorite.

Fanny replies that “THE” piece is hard to say but she still likes About Snails and Circumstances, First Breath of Resurrection, and Checkmate! very much.

I add that I like the cello piece myself and she excitedly adds that one to her list of favorites.

Fanny explains that she is very proud of the cello photo and that if it was in RL it really would be a G on the A-string where her finger is on the string. 

(I’ll take her word for that.) 

I ask if we'll see any more work from Fanny in the future?

Her reply is that’s a good question, she considers the actual exhibit as the closing of the circle which is this series.

Fanny guesses she could go on with making good snapshots but the challenge is to get a common theme like the hollowed box of It Might Get Nude.

As for any other projects other than photos, Fanny says no.  It's photography for her. She is not a universal artist.

By now, we’ve arrived at the Lollygagger Art Center where the exhibit is being
shown. 

The gallery is a repurposed industrial building one would expect to see in NYC in RL.

The exhibit itself is small consisting of only thirteen photographs.

Fanny’s work is an artist's collection of studies in light, poses, and composition using herself as the nude model.

Each shows a different view of herself and make one stop and think about their meaning.  (At least I did!)

While the photographs are not hardcore erotica they may be considered NSFW in many places so I recommend caution in viewing them.

Since they involve nudity and I’m still not that kind of blog, I won’t be showing any close-ups here! 

However, the exhibit can be seen here in SL and this flickr page has many of Fanny’s
photographs available for viewing.

The exhibit is open from November 21st to January 9th.

I strongly recommend anyone interested in photography especially nude photographs and who wants to see the work of an up and coming SL photographer to check this exhibit out before it closes. 

Please remember to dress! 

I’d like to thank Fanny for taking the time to meet with me, show me her work, and answer my questions! 

(Significant Other feels I can be a Philistine when it comes to the arts!)

          More pictures from my visit with Fanny can be found on this flickr page.

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life
please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!