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It's already been established many times over that Nephilaine Protagonist makes quality clothing, and is a top choice for many SL denizens. It's almost redundant (in a good way) to have to describe her talent beyond that because it's so ubiquitous and familiar, yet she keeps on progressing forward. As I'm writing this, SL is currently inaccessible — freezing at the Preparing Inventory screen. I can't wait to get back in, but before I do, I'd like to share the joy of Nephi's latest creation with you. It's called the Constanza set, with more info available in this thread (by the time you read this, it will likely be a circular reference).

It is difficult for a girl like me, Torley Jr.,?to find fashions that really fit. So, it was an amazing surprise for me to discover Nephi had crafted a Constanza set for me in my favorite "Neon Watermelon" colorscheme. Just last night, I saw my honey, Jadey, dolled up in the rouge version, and she was sooo pretty in it. Being as extremely biased as I am but openly stating my bias, I know Nephi not only in a professional capacity as a pixelslinger but as a friend. And while she has created many clothes before my time (such as?a certain?set of Revolution-wear that Fleabite Beach was showing me a few hours ago), I am honored to be in the here and now and appreciating what she does. One of the reasons I came to SL was to celebrate the happiness that comes from being able to create something inworld and share it with others: this is?not only limited to pixelcouture and primbuilds, but includes the emotions that come with them.

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Inspired, I went to pose, gripping Francis Chung and Neil Protagonist's Seburo CX — DON'T FORGET THAT PENDING LAWSUIT, FRAN! — in a variety of locations. It was a bit of a challenge for me to fire a few rounds off into the air, inform innocent bystanders that they would not be harmed, and then quickly zoom the camera in for a good shot with the smoke particle effects. Magic. Pictured from left-to-right is me in: the ghost town by Busy Ben's vehicle lot, standing on a being-rebuilt Whitestar Casino with Pixeldolls HQ in the background, getting a little more up-close-and-personal, and in front of an old world map at Luna. History… like the classic yet futuristic appeal of Nephi's Constanza dress, which works for a cyberpunk princess like myself. This would look great in a psychadelic steampunk situation, in fact *makes note to self*. ^_^

Now, I'm going to check if SL is loggable again.

TO BE CONTINUED… COMING UP NEXT… WATERMELONS! (MORE OF THEM!)

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1. Getting High, quite literally, on Bedazzle's Gravity Space Station… it's like an SL club, with a twist! What that twist is, I don't know — but I do know that if you want to get away from the clubbing experience for awhile and relax with nature, you can go down to the aptly-named Field of Dreams. Poppies ARE included (I think). So here's Darko Cellardoor and me, getting down in what would otherwise be a climate that kills us. But this is Second Life, so pfft.

2. Yes, I'm learning to pole dance! Isn't that exciting?

3. Ah… here I am, chillin' at Lisse Livingston's place, and learning to play the piano all over again.

4. I just like the stark minimal beauty of this shot — standing up on what is a glacial mountain as the horizon wraps around the view. I'm minimally dressed for the occasion, I know… should have had at least been wearing a Launa Fauna scarf. And speaking of Launa and cold, GET WELL SOON!!! *beams sunshine*

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5. One phrase: march of the pigs.

6. If (de)famed inventor Francis Chung looks displeased, it's because I'm in the process of filing a lawsuit against her: "Francis Chung makes dangerous products. / A hug attachment cause me emotional distress / too many hug crush my avatar bones / Seburo is popular weapon with griefer kin" etc.

7. Here I am, sailing up to the SL Public Library in a boat that is too appropriately colored.

8. Related to that last note, Torley Jr. wanted a watch. And what better watch to?wear than one by that diabolical?scriptress, whose name shall go unmentioned because it's possibly in violation of Community Standards??This is?a Jaeger LeCoultre Mark XI, by Francis Chung.?WHAT A HARD NAME TO REMEMBER! Thank goodness it's moddable… initially, I was disappointed to learn that it was only one of her other watch models that had a colorable wriststrap (via commands), so I went to work taking some FleaBilt fur textures and gussying up the strap to accomodate me. There. MUCH better. If you see me inworld in the next day in my very cyberpunk multinational-corp. businesswoman powersuit, you'll see me wearing this watch. As it chokes my wrist. And reminds me to file my lawsuit even faster. Really, it's a lovely watch.?:D

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There are several items of interest I'd like to mention. One is HoseQueen McLean's eyes… yes, her eyes.?At the Elements Boutiques (Jarawa, 55, 186), she's got a nice selection of new eyes for your av?in a dazzling array of colors. The price is so nice for these — 10L$ per colorscheme, and on top of that, she's got a goodie bag to help newbies get started too. HoseQueen just happens to be really friendly on top of this, and she designed the watermelon-colored eyes for Torley Sr. before he vanished into the spacetime rift.

If you're looking for a scripter or a builder or just need to access a Second Life directory and make contact, there is currently no official source that I'm aware of. That being said,?there's Adam Zaius's?SecondServer Trades & Services Directory and Cristiano Midnight's Avatar Central. And SLExchange, a new marketplace and way to conduct commerce in SL, has just opened. I went to the debut?party the other day and had a great time. These are all in the stages of building up… more info on this forum?thread here.

Goodwrench Grayson's Mushroom Kingdom is now located in Davenport (200, 150), and continues to expand. A great place to relive your nostalgic video game memories and make some new ones. Goodwrench recently finished a new waterfall for the Kingdom, and let me tell you, it looks fantastic. Both realistic and unrealistic at the same time — and that's the way it should be.

Princess Medici has got an assorted collection of texture bundles, for 1L$ apiece. More info in this thread here, and?I just went myself last night to catch 'em all (not unlike Pokemon). Get 'em at Amaterasu (172, 200), part of the Islands of Oceana. Princess and her hubby, Higbee, are great people, and they've done much to preserve and expand upon the natural?beauty in SL.

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It all started with this seemingly innocuous thread that had my curiosity piqued. As the title reads: 2005 Mambo Kalista: SL's Original Economy Car. Sure, there are lots of cars in SL, and I've driven over a dozen different ones and hadn't been particularly pleased with them enough to justify a purchase. And of course, I'd tested out a number of?free cars (meaning 4-wheel designs similar to what you would find in the real world). Fun for the short-term, but not anything I'd drive again and again.?This comes down to my eccentric personal preference: they may have been excellent choices for another, but?they just weren't me. And?technically, I had gripes about the ability to steer — cornering can be a real bitch in SL, to put things mildly. Aesthetics matter to me a great deal, but apparently, a number of the cars are using the same base scripts — with some mods here and there — so that would explain the similarly disappointing performance. I'm not going to blame sim crossing nightmares on the carmakers, but it is a deterrent for those who want to make crossgrid journeys. Factor into this equation the fact that in a number of places, the roads aren't even finished. It may be cute to see a broken-down road the first time when flying overhead, but when actually driving, it gets to be a real nuissance having to use Ctrl-drag to?"cheat" yourself over the gaps.

Gosh, what a big paragraph. Anyhoo, next thing I know, I'm posting in the thread and responding to Milo Bukowski, maker of the Mambo Kalista. I was skeptical and didn't have my high hopes, given my previous experiences. After some posting back and forth and inworld IMing, we finally met up. Milo offered to TP me to his hole in ground.?Literally. I had many questions, so I asked them to Milo, one after another. I soon became highly impressed with not only his joviality in his matter, but his patience — and something I should emphasize, his straightforward honesty. No snakeoil here! He filled me in on the limitations I should expect as he showed me his creations. It was a fine example of showing strengths to balance weaknesses, as opposed to the dishonor of trying to hide the gaps. We were both aware of the sim crossing and other problems, so no BSing there.

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It was down to business. Milo most graciously spent time to tweak and customize the appearance of my very own Mambo Kalista, from the base?Obnoxious Green — which was already cute to begin with –?to something I've?commonly called?Neon Watermelon. Coordinating on the color swatches and exchanging ideas, I felt good about this. As the simsun soon descended and night fell upon us, Milo continued to labor, like a true blue grease monkey, and I must have thrown umpteenth requests at him. One of them was making the car more shiny, and the finishing touch was customizing the car with my own "Torley symbol" on the roof.

At last. DONE. (For now, as I was just recently informed by the man himself that a set of spiffier wheels are forthcoming!)

Excited, I took the new Torleymobile out for its first test drive on the open road. I wanted a real lush setting to drive on, so like the archetypical car commercial, I 'ported to the Waterhead TeleHub and proceeded to rez the auto. Several sim crossings got in my way – arghhh! — but as for the Mambo Kalista, Torley Torgeson custom, how did it perform? Admirable, and a?comfortable ride. It looked good turning left and right, and thank goodness it turned in small enough increments as to not veer me off down a hill and into the water. I drove in the forests, in the snow, and at a certain location which might have otherwise required a DeLorean. I cruised through Midnight City, Spittoonie, the Welcome Area, and more. I even took some newbies fo' a pimpin' ride — hey,?they asked me to! So, I obliged. ^_^

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As for what I would like to see in future upgrades of this car — as what's good can get even better — I'd like more realistic car noises. The engine doesn't sound as the car is driving for stretches. Milo assures me this is on his to-do list. More speed settings would be nice too. The car isn't a sports racer but it can be a struggle to go uphill: gear switching, some sort of accelerative thrust, would rock. Also, a way for the car to drive up terrain that isn't totally linear, to climb curbs, and even a dramatic "jump" ability to leap when necessary" would be most graciously welcome.

I've got my vehicle parked at Midnight City right now, right across the street from my dumpster home and next to Aimee's Big Load laundromat. Check it out at your leisure. And the price for the Mambo Kalista? Only 149 L$! Yes, like Donald Trump, I like a good deal. So if you're inworld and interested, send Milo Bukowski an IM and he'll hook you up. Have a look at the cars for yourself at his Bodega HQ.

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P.S. Thanks to Bedazzle and their Gravity Space Station club for letting me park on their roof. And sorry about slipping off that roof some minutes later, and landing in the restricted area. The car remained there for a day, sans driver, until someone… Jimmy? Foxy?! sent it back to me.

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I have been consciously engaging in sorts of sleep deprivation experiments on myself for the last few days. Not in an extremely unhealthy context, but a sort of personal "push myself to find out what it's like". I'll catch up on my sleep debt soon, but to sum things up, I've been trying to bridge RL and SL closer in some respects: for example, I'll stay up reaaally late on SL and then go to sleep — and several times already, I've seen what I was last experiencing inworld, and it is such a trip. It is not really addictive as a chemical drug would be, but it is fascinating. (By the way, "fascinating" doesn't even begin to describe.)

I've tried to sleep in 2-hour blocks and then wake up, go on SL for a few minutes, and then go back to sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat. It makes me tired and I feel this real glowing edge; it's like a good pain when my head cramps up and I'm tapping away at the keyboard, staring at whatever's on the screen and attempting to engage in sentient communication. I find it also loosens trains of thought for me, and lets me brainstorm more ideas and let my stream-of-conscious flow like a maple syrup ribbon. And to mix things up, I'm going to take chunks of time where I'm away from SL and see how this affects me personally. I enjoy that diversity, and it's like watching the way a lava lamp operates.

I found out about a magical mode on my video card that makes everything look like it's gone all soft and fuzzy, but sharp enough to maintain a reasonable degree of clarity. YAY! ANTI ALL MY ALIASES! It doesn't appear to slow down things majorly, but looks extremely beautiful for taking photos and experience the world as a truely "waking dream".?Like the name Oneironaut ;), to me this is very much about?exploring dreams. So, as?I have been using this mode for the last few days, I've felt increasingly compelled and even more drawn into what's going on inworld.

LOTTA stuff to do today in SL. Saw Kex Godel again for the first time in over a week. What a heartwarmer! Also, a massive scripting fair is on, and Rodeo Drive is having a yard sale. I've got?more than a?few places to travel (beanstalk?!)?and take note of. Not to mention: the 38-for-1L$ (that's almost 39, a personal lucky number ) shirts Jai has posted about that are available at the most elegant GNU Wave Store, contacting several olde denizens of SL to ask them firsthand about their experiences, taking my new car on extended journeys — more on that soon! — and much much more.

Wise words in the heat of the moment as the sweet warm sun rose:

"We can only dream that life we be lived to the fullest - by those, who actuallyl live it. And at moments like these - these, the moments - we can only, and dream - amongst us."
-FlipperPA Peregrine '04

Blog toteming continues. True-to-Second-Life, as I like to say.

Okay. I'm going inworld again in a few… see you there.

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It is a tragedy.?With a heavy heart, I am writing?that Meltsinyourmouth Steed, real name Stephanie Waller,?has passed away. I had previously blogged about?Melts's marriage to Malora, and from a wedding to a funeral, it is a sad and mournful day. A memorial service in her honor was recently held. Madiera Westerburg, who had officiated for them, posted this?info on the forums. It is extremely important to realize that while certain aspects of Second Life are "games", even behind the "masks" of avatars, there is reality. There is the overarching human connection that binds us all together, interactively, and that we do make a difference. Just as Melts made a difference in the lives of her loved ones; now it is important to let them know this.

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I have previously said that First Life is so short, so what does that make Second Life? In a paradoxical sort of way, the inverse could be said as well. Every happy moment, every happy memory counts. Sometimes I wonder if I took too many photographs while inworld — it's a silly thing to think about, isn't it? Well, in hindsight, I realize I didn't take enough. I have moments in this virtual world I wish I could get back, but never will. When I was a kid, I really didn't understand the need to take photos. I feel I'm beginning to.

It's one jumbled ball of emotions: remembering the good times, trying to let go of the bad times, and all the confuzzled shades and nuances in between. Not easy to deal with — that's Life.

One dreams of rainbows when all one sees is rain.

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The subtitle of this section does have relevance to what I'm going to say, but it's not overt. Nor is it as subtle as snow in a snowstorm.

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1. First off, it was my first time actually shouting out "BINGO!" and getting it right. Yay! This game was hosted by Bill Stirling at the Miru Airport. Sitting next to me is the admirable Lisse Livingston, and on our shoulders are her "torus buddies" — made entirely out of toruses, or torii — which caused some goths in the Welcome Area to freak out in the best of ways. Whatja think it was… TAPEWORM!??

2. Next up, we have Richard Roentgen of Hammerhead fame, sleeping on the job. Well, not really. It's actually something cool he's working on. And no, not a way to sleep on the job. Although he's done that too.

3. Speaking of Hammerhead, here I am in my fave aerialsub, cruising the warm skies with none other than Xyni Platini, who doesn't read this blog but should.

4. Stormy Roentgen's portfolio housething is a fun place to visit. I like her work like I like Starax's. There is a connection, of course. In the housething, there's a rezzer which automatically cycles through a selection of Stormy's artistry, including this jail which I got trapped in. All ye who enter here, abandon… hope?

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Bedazzle makes teh kewl shiznit. I've been chatting to Foxy Xevious aka "bubblegum hair"?and Jimmy Thomson aka "flaming hair"?of the team, and they're the overseers responsible for Sim Horror, the Gravity space club where I had my picture taken, Field of Dreams cropmaker?system, etc. They've got an exciting upcoming project I'm personally thrilled about. Formerly known to me as "untitled Bedazzle first-person shooter", it now has a name: Unreal SL. Yes, the name evokes certain connections. I don't really get into computer games a whole lot, but seeing this within the communal framework of SL, and being created by such a dedicated core team, is something I watch for. Oh, and they're nice people.

On a related note, some of you have asked me about the flamethrower I was wielding at the Town Hall meeting. Jimmy did the texturing?for it, Neil Protagonist did the flames! eegads!, and Francis Chung is responsible for the so-called mesh and scriptorama — oh, and the cute little blue flame which makes my heart?go breakbeat.?IT IS IMPORTANT TO STATE THAT THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS: TEH FINAL WILL R0X0R UR S0X0R 3V3N HARD3R!!1 So . . . lookout for Unreal SL.

I'm mapping out a list right now of my future explorations tonight. Ah, what a joy it is to be live and direct. Tonight, I've gotta check out Lisse's home which is new and old AT THE SAME TIME. That just blows my mind. I'm also wanting to chat up Milo Bukowski about his Mambo Kalista cars. They're affordable, cute, and it seems they may corner nicely too, which is an odd rarity in SL vehicles (I'm generalizing). What I'm after is something in my fave neon watermelon colors, and although the "Obnoxious Green" scheme comes close, it's like jam without tha peanut butter. We'll see.

What's swimming around in my mind's eye right now? There are several Adam Zaius projects I'm curious about… Lensey Roark's Rodeo Drive is developing (gotta wuv the stars next to the stores and the big, slanted?HOLLYWOOD sign)… while hanging with?some furries,?I spotted newcomer?Roland Xavier –?a warm welcome to Second Life! –?putting on a new Luskwood Bat av, lookin' good (Michi, CGA DRAGONS!!!)… Bozo the Clown sighted with floppy shoes in the Welcome Area… waiting for the next big party at the Punany Club… and oh, I'm interested this Event for tomorrow:

Thinkers - "Spasticus Autisticus" @ 2 PM Lindentime (aka PST)

Is the name of a song by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, not an attempt to be insulting.

SL allows people to interact irrespective of their disabilities. You can't tell if the person at the other end of the conversation is deaf, mute in a wheelchair etc. You might pick up the dyslexics or someone with autism if you know the signs. Is this a good thing? Will things like VoIP wreck SL for the deaf/mute people? Does SL with its reliance on reading and writing discriminate against people with certain types of disability?

As for the rest, it's up in the air. I'll take it as it comes…

This, I gotta tell ya, is more exciting than drinking a milkshake of Einstein-Bose condensates! So where did I leave ya last time? Lessee now… and I'll roll the joints, er, jaunts from there, so to speak.

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1. Ryen Jade called this one (good timing duuude)! So be it! =) Here we are, a cyberpunk quartet… Oz Spade, Ryen, moi, and Nick Fairlight. Discussing visionary?ideas, goofing around. Of note: Oz was eating KFC. I am honored to be in such company. (In an alternate alternate universe, I have become but a common Island Sandbox griefer. Oh the?dishonor.?:P )

2. Sweeeet story behind this one. BANG!!! What did I tell ya? ;)?Nick was filling me on some stories of the past, including how he once unleashed this AMAZING fireworks show of his while friends camped out and watched. From a time before I ever came to SL, when the metaverse was much smaller and I hear that community — —in some respects at least?–?was more closely-knit. These fireworks are truely symbolic of the beauty of Second Life — not only what Nick made but what they were made for. The particle effects are wonderful to watch — I wouldn't say "random",?because there is clearly a form and function to the display. There are nice whistling and crackling sounds to accompany the pulsebursts and skitters and all manner of colorful extravagance. Initially, we watched from atop Ryen's apartment, but I had an urge to zoom up, and so we did…

3. zooming in closer to the cosmic rhythm. BANG! BANG!! BANG!!! Full of sound and fury, signifying everything.

4. Somewhere along the line, the idea that we should set up a nice fireworks show in the Welcome Area arose, and so Nick and I headed to the n00b spawn1ng z0ne. Scouting around for a place to launch, Nick sagely decided to cover two spots. Musing briefly about how we might be reported for noise pollution by some killjoy, it didn't happen, and the show went off awesomely. Nick let the 'works fire off towards the heavens above, the moon shining in its full glory, as Morris builders paused from their construction to witness the spectacle. In an excited frenzy, I headed towards the WA and shouted out for all to come and see the show, see the show!?A crazy celebration of Second Life spirit is what it was in the best of ways, and then, without prior warning, Nick and I disappeared into the night.

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5. It wasn't before long that we ended up at Nick's Metis place, where he promptly proceeded to show me some of his vehicular contraptions, including this flying wheelchair that enabled us to do a great ET impersonation. I BELIEVE!!!

6. Ah, of wheelchairs, trains, aeroplanes, and things that roll… yes, that's Spittoonie Island you see. Spittoonie and "fun"? Synonymous. It all started when Rickard asked me to join him in a chairfight. Sadly, said chairfight was motion-broken and it looked more like we were doing some sort of Scanners telepathic challenge, minus the exploding watermelons-as-heads. So, heading for greener pastures and taking things as they came, vehicles soon were rezzed for the enjoyment of all involved. Casval Epoch of the blue hair (the one who told me that watching virtual movies looks better in mouselook when you show your avatar bits — he was right!) took us cruising along on his Jeep.

7. I'm getting sort of a Halo vibe from this one. It was just too fun, pulling out guns and aiming at the aerial vehicles made by Rickard Roentgen as we trolleyed around the island, navigating little molehills and bigger mountains.?Simply Ariel looks good with a gun, doesn't she??It was a late hour and there?wasn't really anyone else around — I must seriously state that while I am constantly in pursuit of crazy fun, I do not like to cause trouble to others. And so, onwards ho!!

8. War of the Hammerheads in the sky! Taking the battle from ground to air, we soared through the sim, getting a spectacular view of the theme park from above, and?colliding into each other as we did so. Up in a skybox, we found a Plinkoesque game called "Klinko" or somesuch thing. I reckon it will be in action soon, courtesy of Spittoonie resident mastermind Jack Digeridoo.

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9. Hammerhead bowling! STRIKE!!! At one point, us ladies got on the pins and proceeded to become targets for the mechanized wrath of the aerialsub hybrids.

10. A picture of the torrid Torrid Midnight as she anticipates to pilot a Hammerhead for her very first time. And thanks again Torrid, for the neon clothing.

11. Chillin' at Oneironaut Escher's ADD-incarnate pad with him and Dan Rhodes, creative and esteemed members of the SL community. Like the sands in an hourglass, these are the days of our lives. Note the detailed sketch showing how much a labor of love this project is. For Onei, the time's often 4:20!

12. And here… I sit on top of the new Coffee Talk building, as architected by Lordfly Digeridoo. Coffee Talk used to be a little stand in the center square of Midnight City, which is now occupied by a population of snowpeople good and evil.?(I will never forget the line "Aren't knockoffs great?") And now, we have expansion, and so, we have this! Note Torrid's?and my Hammerheads parked on the?roof.?As I watch the solar orange glow and radiantly emanate its pixellated warmth towards my pale face, I realize: "What a tranquil, glorious, beautiful sunrise." While virtual, I treasure moments like this, and as the sun rises in SL, I go to sleep in RL . . . content in anticipating what lies ahead.

About three hours ago,?it dawned on me that I would like to try something known as Townhallhopping. I know not where the idea came from nor what motivated to go forth on such a crazy lark, but I do know this: guided by my intuition, I proceeded to TP from one Repeater location of the latest Second Life Town Hall meeting — this one focusing on economics — to the next, eventually making it to the location itself, before unwinding at Indigo.

Along the way, I caught snippets of Philip Linden's answers, observed vibrant life huddled around repeaters-in-the-form-of-ye-olde-radios, and saw many familiar faces. I had to Hammerhead from one sim to another on occasion due to the TP system breaking upredictably and stripping me of all of my attachments in the process (thankfully, a temporary inconvenience). Wielding my flamethrower while decked out in neon like some sort of Gandhi Khan, I beamed from one station to the next, enjoying the efficient?rush as it came.

Below are photos of my journey in reverse-chronological order. From setting Foxy and Jimmy ablaze at Lime to dropping briefly in at Le Cadre to a welcome chat with the classy-as-always Gwyneth Llewelyn:

You: Gwyn, you're looking classy with that joint.
Gwyneth Llewelyn: pfft not a joint, Torley
You: LOL *looks closer*
Gwyneth Llewelyn: it's called a Cigarette Holder (Patent Pending by Gwyneth Llewelyn World Domination Now Enterprises)

I hope you enjoy!

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As I type this, it's 2:22 in the morn, and I'm bleary-eyed and delirious. But I feel a sort of exhausted joy that's transpired from the adventures of the previous days. Evermind the fact that my journeyful jaunts are collecting faster than I can express them; I gotta tell you, the fun in Second Life keeps on rolling on. So before I hit the metaphorical hay, here goes lucky eight out of many, and in the days that follow… many more to come!

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1. Pypo Chung shows me the joy of classic RPG battling vs. giant mutant mantises in the fantasy world of DarkLife… currently in what is, I believe, closed beta testing.?I — not a damsel in distress but a curious observer — stand chastely by as he valiantly battles the presumably evil monsters.

2. I finally got a fully guided tour of the luxurious house of Higbee Protagonist and Princess Medici! They are a couple both online and offline, and I think that's just sooo sweet. They were very gracious and showed me around what is in fact a home based on their honeymoon location, with additions all their own! Located in Amaterasu in the Islands of Oceana, it's a must-see with its lush natural setting and the secrets which await you. Second Life now has a second continent!

3. Ah, this was grand… I was decked out in Munch's renaissance weare and who other should I come across than one of the Luskwood founders, Michi Lumin. The time was approx. 4 AM, with few avatars flying around, and I just happened to have the fortune to talk with Michi about the new line of Luskwood avs — including this very cool dragon. A funny thing transpired, because I suddenly blurted out that the colors reminded me of old PC games I used to play. Ya know: cyan, purple, black, and white.?(Not alt-palette.)?Michi exclaimed that?this in fact was the case, and she did have CGA colors in mind while the creation of this av. I then proceed to become even more excited!!

4. OMG!!! Final Fantasy (ONE, not 6 or X-2 or Advent Children) goodness. Everett Palmerstone's avatar strikes me as one of my favorites in recent memory. The four-character name display and hitpoints only add to the nostalgic thrill. (First time I beat Final Fantasy was with three fighters and a red mage.) Now, if only he had the victory battle music?and the two-frame "Yay!" anim to go with that.

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5. Simply Ariel Roentgen shows me where she and Rickard Roentgen enjoy their time. Okay, in hindsight, that's a yuge understatement because the place is SOOO beautiful. Ariel gave the furni her loving touch, and it really shows. Also note how her passion for photography is reflected on the walls. (And yes, those are Sony MDR-V700DJs that Ezequal's wearing in the photo-within-a-photo.) It's a really nice place to live your Second Life.

6. This is a Quiet Spot, a masterful expanse of lush organics that's being created by the Stalkers. It takes up the bulk of the Benicia sim. I had a brief chat with Clio Lumiere of the group today, and as she merrily danced in the sky with her fellow Stalkers, she explained to me more about the place. In this pictar, Rickard and I are zooming in his Hammerhead to get a nice view of the landscape, which leads us to…

7. a?Quiet Spot would quickly become a Noisy Spot if war were to break out, and we don't wanna do that, but Rickard had some great ideas concerning camouflage in the trees — not to mention entertaining future possibilities of PvP games. The lush foliage just drapes you in its green awesomerifficness. I could spew pseudorandom quotes from Apocalypse Now, but I won't.

8. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY KEX!!! More info on this can be found here. I haven't seen Kex in, like, a week. In SL time, that's not unlike eternity (semi-jesting). Seriously though, if I don't see Kexy soon, I'm going to have to put out *MISSING* posters all over the metaverse. *sighs*
   From left to right, some of my favorite people in Second Life: Neil Protagonist, Taessa Weaver, Nephilaine Protagonist, AnneDroid Lily, Francis Chung, Rickard Roentgen, Torley?Torgeson, Chage McCoy, Catherine Omega.

Now that my Yyy has turned to Zzz, I must sleep. I leave you with these lyrics, which I've taken completely out of context,?to ponder over:

"It seems so easy now
everything I dreamed about when I was a child
It looks like a good thing's here
and I think I'll stay for a while."
-Tara McLean

Coming next: BANG!!!