Been five years.

I forgot to mention it in my blog, but I turned five years old this month.  That's five years in SL, not biological age, obviously.  My rez date is 1/8/2009.  My birth date is way before that, and considerably over 21 years ago.  I'm probably nearer to being an old fart than a baby.  Regardless of the age ranges typically assigned to those terms.  And at five years in world, I'm joining the senior crowd in SL.  Think about it.  The oldest you can be in SL is just over ten.  And I very rarely see anyone older than eight.  So, five is SL's version of middle age at least.

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For your viewing pleasure, here's an outfit made up of bits from Grumble (shorts), *Slave* (top & shoes).  The photo was taken on the deck at Momi-chan's.  Which I'm happy to say is a warm and welcoming place. 

Adventures in Wonderland

A friend of mine, Prissy, found a fantastic sim a while back.  It's a sort of maze/amusement park/themed exhibit based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  She picked up a great little "Alice" dress and talked me into exploring it with her.

She didn't have to talk much.  I like hanging out with Prissy.  But I did want to do her look justice, so I went with a sort March Hare look for myself.  And off we went.  It is a big intricate place, so I eventually had to log off and go to bed before we explored it all, but we had a lot of fun.  Here are just a few of the snapshots I took that evening.  I really recommend doing a places search and checking this sim out.

PS: I think the actual sim is called "Bubbles in Wonderland."

Best boots?

Grumble gives away a group freebie every month.  This month's might be the best ever.  A pair of combat boots, done in mesh.

*yawn*

But wait, these boots are not rigged and made in such a way that you can adjust the size in all three axis!  YES!  That's right, a complex "sculptie" type opbject you can size to your avatar regardless of shape!  If you look at the image below you can see the controls for not only the entire object, but X, Y and Z as well.  These are also available in women's shop I think.  But however you get them, they are some of the best fitting boots you'll ever own!

Best bang for the buck.

OK, today I'm doing something I never thought I'd do in my blog.  I'm reviewing, and/or giving a recommendation for a set of boy bits.  For those of you who are not residents of SL, you might not know that, by default, SL males are as gifted as a Ken Doll.  Or, for those too out of the pop culture loop, males in SL have no genitalia.

Females have breasts, and most skins have at least rudimentary female bits between the legs.  But for guys, there is no love without seeking out "after factory add ons."

Even if you don't engage in cybersex, roleplaying, etc.  I can understand wanting to have your primary sexual characteristics apparent when you are unclothed.  It's kind of important to most folks.  And if you are into being naughty, square that.

I've tried out and/or researched most of the major vendors of naughty bits in SL.  And of the current crop, I think the best you can get for the expenditure of Lindens is the set from LASH.

For free?  I'd probably recommend Hugsie's freebie.  She's made a nice one that is easily found and used.  For the most whistles and bells, I'd probably recommend Sensations.  For best bits with a foreskin, I'd recommend [17].  For simple, pubes, economy and pierced, I'd go with Janzoe.  But for the best at the things I want most, I'm giving LASH my thumbs up. 

I've looked into Aeros, Lotus, Xcite, and several others.  So...Why?  First of all appearance.  It is a well made set of boy bits.  Many types of adornment are availible and it comes with a Prince Albert by default.  You can size it from from redonkulous, to tiny.  So someone like me who likes something proportional and "realistic" can easily accomplish that regardless of height.  Next is price, it comes in more than Janzoe or [17], but less than Sensations or most others. Its controls for color matching to your avatar's skin and various excretory functions are all very well done.

Lastly, and most importantly, are the separate controls for arousal and angle.  You can adjust the level of arousal independently of the angle of the dangle.  "Say what?"  Yes, you can have you penis actually positioned as if gravity in SL had any meaning, regardless of your level of arousal. Below are the control panels from the HUD used by the LASH boy bits for your perusal.  You can easily see that this penis is far more "controllable" than any other in SL.  Also keep in mind you can wear the set of bits without the HUD, which is included for free, or minimize the HUD to a small "title bar" display when you don't need it.

Configuration

Usage Controls

Playing Catchup for a while.

I've been having a bit of a time with injuries of late.  Broke a bone in one hand, then injured the other one.  Fell down and hurt my back.  Add in the holidays and I've just had no energy left to spare for Blog entries.

Or even much SL.  Most of the places I frequent don't even have voice chat enabled.  When typing hurts, that makes SL kind of unattractive.  Tried the new built in voice filters, they do work well.  Even in Linux.  Though I think 750L a month is a bit steep.

Anyway, hopefully I'll have the time and energy for more posts soon.  For now, here's just a recent outfit.  The hair and boots are from previous posts.  But the dress is a new mesh one from Grumble.  Also, they have put in a huge subway under the shop, and have a scavenger hunt going on till the end of the month.

Random Stuff for October

I haven't been posting much for several reasons.  So to play catch up with a few things:

1) The Bunny Hunt.  Get goodies from Grumble!  Time's half over.

Read about the hunt here.

2) Been hanging out a lot at a new club called Stiletto's when I'm in world.  Here's a nice shot of me in an old but good green dress from Blakopal.  I really think if you are OK with femdom, and like the steampunk aesthetic, you'd enjoy this place.  Weekly events, DJs, live performances, and the folks are friendly and pretty laid back.  Blakopal makes some of the best steampunk fashion in SL if you ask me.

Blakopal at Club Stiletto

3) More construction at Pair A Dice.  I've put up some decorations, but I've also used a gift from Stiletto's folks and a few bits of my own to put in a spooking grave yard next to the chapel.  Very lovely for the season.  So come by and visit the Pirate's Rest.

Incase, I hadn't noticed.

I love to travel the byways of the Internet looking at artwork.  A fair bit of it is rather naughty.  I see a lot of things by artists like Grigbertz (Who has an inworld shop called Bondage Witch Project.), Bonk, Naylor, Brian Tarsis (Another SL resident who used to market castles.), Dmitrys, etc. etc.  Among this throng was an artist who signs their work "Incase."

So that's not a typo in the post title.  What I hadn't noticed until very recently was that with all my recent mesh and skin modifications to my avatar, I've become very much like one of Incase's characters.  When I did notice, I went the final step and made some prim pierced nipples that match.  I had an old set, but they had rings.  Here's a comparison shot of me looking all femboi, and one of the Incase's characters.  They say great minds think alike...

Fashion for the flatchested!

I was watching some documentaries on SL on Netflix and Youtube a while back and one of them commented on virtual worlds and MMOLRPGs in general as reinforcing gender stereotypes.  To a degree I think they may have a point, with the recent influx of mesh fashion, most vendors of men's clothes have made them for massive hulking muscled types.  And the vendors of womens clothes have tended toward the busty.  Even XXS sizes are often made for avatars chestier than what I consider ideal for mine.  And most vendors don't include a XXS.  Sometimes they stop at Small.  Which frankly would typically leave Betty Page enough room to bounce around in.

But there is hope!  Stinky Kitty & Razor Blade Jacket both have some of their mesh tops in a flat chested size!  Yep, totally flat.  Rejoice all ye fembois and grrls.

Razorblade Jacket's Half Sweater for the flatchested.

Still more sacred spaces

Lest you think me hopelessly Christian in my appreciation of sacred spaces in SL, or RL, here is a location that I found quite moving.  Especially given I lean toward Buddhist beliefs in many ways.

The snapshots here show me (in a new outfit from *slave* and shoes from Grumble) exploring the site in SL called Yogyakarta Borobudur.

These locations are based on real world sites that are truly ancient and awe inspiring.  You should stop by and see if you can't find a bit of inner peace.

Being Uhmerican

These days, being a patriotic American seems to almost require that you be a blind sided white bread "uhmericun."  But, as I sit thinking about it, and the pain and struggle that went into bringing together the unlikely confluence of genetics that gave rise to me and others of my generation, I just feel the need to give props to those that came before.

Uncle Angel who gave us pollo con arroz and other Puerto Rican and Columbian comfort food that warms the heart to this day.

Cousin Tony, and his family who gave us Capicola and Salami.  On big white bread buns with oil and vinegar.  Sandwiches that are equaled, but never bettered.

Aunt Betsy who gave us Kielbasa and sour kraut.  Grandma's chicken and dumplings with cracklin's in cornbread.  Etc. etc. 

Americans are not from America.  At least not the vast majority of us.  We are from "the old country."  And if, in this day and age we can't stop and relate to those who are recently come from there, wherever there is, or are still there, where ever there is, then that's on us.  And shame, shame on us.