Shortly, I'm going to be on vacation with my beloved wife Jenny. It's the 1st extended vacation I've taken since I started working for Linden Lab. I'll be back in early October.
If you read my blog, thanks for coming here and taking the time.
Remember the Good, Pure, and True: be good to each other… the world has known enough sadness, don't let happiness be a stranger.
This chapter ends, the next begins…
Until next time, YAYZERAMA! to you.
This is surely one of the most beautiful pieces of black & white art I've ever seen, digital or not. It comes from the classic Mac title, Cosmic Osmo and the Worlds Beyond the Mackerel.
There's less info about it about the Net than I'd like to see, visually speaking, but this picture alone should tell you how whimsical it is. I'm playing an emulated version right now after many years of separation, and the sound design sounds amazingly rich. Some of you might know a later series of works which Robyn & Rand Miller would go on to create — called Myst.
As a kid, I used to make Hypercard stacks; one of them was titled Galaxy II. No, there never was a Galaxy I, but in Mr. Simard's 6th-grade class, I said, "Damn the UI!" and went out to create a world of my own. Sadly, it's long-lost now and I have no original floppy diskettes I can revive, but part of the inspiration was reading about Cosmic Osmo — that's right, I didn't even play it, or even see a picture… a blurb in Macworld magazine got my attention.
Nowadays, I like laying awake for a few minutes before sleeping and thinking of fantastic worlds harnessed by the imagination, and a fraction of their splendor brought into communal existence that can be enjoyed by other people.
I think that, at least in part, is what draws me to Second Life, and its rich tapestry of ever-evolving dreams, awakening.
Woooo I just got back from guesting on Tonight Live with Paisley Beebe in Second Life, it was totally fun. WHAT A ROCKIN' SHOW. Paisley made me feel at ease right away, doing the run-through prep with my fellow guests Slim Warrior and Diana Allandale was so lively and funny, and Yxes Delacroix, Rena Mayne, and Ember Farina were soooo helpful in answering my questions and providing info so I didn't botch anything up! It sure looks easier in hindsight, but that's the way a lot of things are, eh?
My only regret is that ~10 min. was not long enough to get through all the topics Paisley had in mind for me, even with my speedy talking, but perhaps there'll be a sequel. I'm avid about followup.
There was an ongoing joke about eating all the chocolates because the big couch's leftmost seat (from the perspective of the audience) had this built-in anim that made it look like you were eating out of a box of varied candy hearts.
I am immensely energized by my beloved wife, Ravenelle Zugzwang, being there for me. I am going through some pretty exciting (and at times jarring) changes right now in my first and Second Life. Ravie keeps me on course when I get unfocused, and reminds me every day of what's really important about being alive. "Do great things!" is one of the first motivating quips she ever said to me, and I keep that close, and act on it. As a kid, I wouldn't have understood what a powerful force L-O-V-E is, but I'm beginning to.
Ravie also took photos of the event like the two above, so check it out on her Flickr stream.
A big YAYZERAMA! goes to everyone who attended, great to see you all and chat… thanxies for the encouragement! If ya couldn't make it, an archived version is up now!
Ah, continuing whimsical art inspired by my lovely wife, Jennifer. You'll want to see the first episode if you haven't yet. The idea for this one came to me when I was thinking of children's books where something important is happening in the sky, but there's not more gravity (pardon the pun) to the situation, and you don't feel that anyone's taking a risk.
"Well? Why should they? They're children's books!" you might say with good reason, but even in reading materials for the young, I like to think about the opportunities that this world holds, and the risks and rewards that come with them. Love is foremost among said opportunities, and you'll always hear words like "communication" and "trust" tagging along.
It's essential to be supportive of each others' hopes + dreams in a relationship, especially when it comes to "reaching for the stars". Jenny (or Jenni, I have many names for her) literally likes stars — and that's how this piece came to be.
Perhaps next time, more dialog.
