Skin market

I've been wearing this Hybrid II Ardent skin for a long time now, ever since I discovered it and left my beloved Gala skin in inventory. I actually bought Feral first, but I decided it was a shade too dark for me. Now, I really only switch between the shaved and unshaved versions of Ardent, except for certain special occasions when I'll pull out the Nomine China White.

Hybrid II has been berry, berry good to me, but it's time for a change. I need a change for all kinds of reasons, but at least partly because my second life needs a kick start. This is a big one—just clothes shopping won't do it!

I do like several things about the Hybrid II. One is the colour. It's hard to find a non-white skin that does the colour as well as this. I hate dark with too much yellow. I also love the arch of the eyebrow and the general eye shape. I don't so much like the softness and lack of detail, nor have I ever really liked the pursed mouth.

I really like the detailing on the kitty of the Hybrid II, as well as the shaved option. Sorry, I'm just not big on pubic hair, not even a landing strip if I can avoid it. It's my smooth and slippery personal taste (or maybe lack of good taste for having published that). I would put up with a landing strip, but not anything really bushy.

The reason I bought the Hybrid II in the first place was because of a review in Linden Lifestyles. I don't find many skin reviews, but they have some, and I appreciate their advice. I went there again to see what's new, but hardly any skin reviews are recent.

Based on one review, I'm currently checking out photoreal skins from Insolence. I like several things about this skin, although it's not quite as dark as I prefer. The detail is very nice, I like the eyes, I almost like the eyebrows, and I love the mouth. I thought I'd waited for the rez before I snapped the photo, but I didn't, so this picture is less than it ought to be. In looking at these four photos near each other, I'm looking favourably on this one at the moment.

At the urging of my friend CodeBastard, photographer extraordinaire—she was kind enough to include me in her Boudoir Rouge series (be sure to check out the others too)—I'm also looking at RAC. But man, we're talking L$4,000 for a skin! Yes, the level of detail is very good, and there's a lot to like about this photoreal skin, but that's a lot of moolah for a girl with no job who just dropped three grand to see the ZeroG SkyDancers (with no regrets). As well, I'm not very fond of the southern zone. And the darker colour is one with a lot of yellow in it.

My alt has a skin from ND, and I like the makeup options for that one. The Hybrid II is not versatile, and it has pale fingernails rather than polish that matches the lip colour. Wrong! I've lived with that for a long time, but it's not my preference.

For some reason, however, I'm not sold on this skin for this avatar. I'm not sure that the face works as well for this shape as I've seen it work for other avatars. It's amazing what a skin can do when there's been no modification to the shape.

So I'm looking at any and all options, when I can make the time to shop, buy skin demos, and check them out. Suggestions appreciated.

Zero gravity

One word about not having written for more than a month: sorry.

OK, more than one word. My Second Life has been practically nonexistent lately. School takes a lot of time. Other things in first life do as well. I just haven't been able to block out time to play, which is really what SL is for me. I know, all work and no play make Jill a dull girl, but I've had to set priorities. I'm not always happy that I can't have as much fun as I'd like, but I need to works in order to make some things happen. I should be working even harder.

Anyway... I actually got into SL twice today. Earlier this afternoon, I popped in to clear the numerous notices that had accumulated since the last time I'd logged in, and I saw that my friend Peter Stindberg was on (his excellent blog is on my blog list). He lives in Germany and I'm on the left coast of Canada, so we don't meet up very often. He graciously invited me over to his wife Gina's gallery, so I got to see Peter, meet Gina, and see her photographs, which are very good. I should have asked to take a few snaps myself, because Peter and Gina are both cuties and make a great couple. We chatted for a while until we all had to return to first life.

Later, I finally made time to attend a performance by the ZeroG SkyDancers, in which my friend Deborah Strangelove is one of the company's original dancers. The piece was called "Second Spring." This was my first time, and I completely enjoyed the combination of original music by ZeroOne Paz and flying movement with colours by the dancers themselves. Do you ever get those little chills in your spine at things like rituals? I do, and that's how I felt watching this performance. It was very evocative. Even the space in which they perform, Ars Simulacra, is marvelous, which is why I included a shot of the audience waiting for the show to start.

I wish my computer and graphics card were more up to snuff. I'm sure the better your hardware is, the better the experience. As it was, I still enjoyed it completely. I seemed not to be able to get in close to the dancers, though, so that's why all the photos are a bit more panoramic. In fact, I was moving the camera so much, with the draw distance set much higher than I usually do, that I crashed my client right at the end of the show.

The ticket price isn't cheap—L$3,000 recommended, L$2,000 or L$1,000 if you're broke—but I felt the experience was worth it. A ZeroG SkyDancer performance, with its combination of sight and sound, is one of those things that make people say, yeah, this is what SL is really for. Check it out for yourself. These photos are only a hint—and they're silent.

Handfast, hold fast

I attended a beautiful event a week ago today. I've been meaning to write about it ever since, but in first life I started school again this week, so it has not been easy to make time.

The event was the wedding of my dear friend Anwen Ryan and her darling River. They have been together for several months now. Anwen is Wiccan (maybe River too, I'm not sure), so they were married in a handfast ceremony, just as my friend Tatsuko was. As sometimes happens in Second Life, things went wrong. The most serious thing was that Luna, who was going to officiate, became ill and couldn't make it into SL. Fortunately, our friend Cala stepped in to perform the ritual, as she did for Tats.

I love the Wiccan handfast ceremony. I don't remember all the questions and answers, but I remember questions like whether one partner will hurt the other ("yes" or "probably") and whether the partner will wish to cause harm ("no"). There are seven or eight questions, I believe. I should have been paying closer attention instead of taking photographs!

Luna had arranged the reception, and because she could not be there, the original plans fell through. But in SL, it's more about people than all the fancy stuff. An and River hosted us at their place, with music streamed in by our awesome DJ friend Merik (who was also Anwen's maid of honour). Scatter a few dance poses around, and you have a party. The ceremony started at 9:30 at night, so I couldn't stay too long, but I did get to dance quite a bit with my dear Phadre, who had been busy as River's maid of honour, as well as with River, An, and Merik.

Good friends make good times. I love that about SL. Best wishes to An and River! And sorry the wishes come so late!

I will post more photos on my Flickr site (which is badly in need of updating). Meanwhile, check out the photos Emma posted on her site. I think she has the Windlight viewer.

Frozen butterflies

OK, since I was doing a lot of first life stuff far into December, and since I then left town for several days, I never did do any proper Christmas shopping in Second Life. Hopefully, a gift is a gift, whenever it's given. I'd been doing searches for shops that sell jewellery and not finding much I liked, and it occurred to me that I should revisit some places I hadn't been to in a while.

I used to shop at Coconut Ice on Butterfly Island all the time, at least when something was on sale. I've belonged to the update group since way back when. I even used to find places to change on Butterfly Island in the early days when I was homeless. So I always feel quite at home there.

I encountered something new as I walked through the door. Maybe it wasn't new, but I hadn't been to the store in quite a while, so it was new to me. It wasn't a greeter bot. It was some kind of fairy that flew around. It didn't say anything, but it was kind of cute. So I did my best to take a photo of it. Fortunately, it wasn't invisible in the picture!

I saw a notice about a winter display on the southeast corner of the island. Or maybe southwest. For some reason, I'm always drawn to winter areas of SL. I'm really not much of a winter person in first life. Many years ago, I moved away from snow and ice, not quite to the tropics but certainly to a less snowy place. Yet I love winter in SL. Maybe it's because it's not really cold, but looks very pretty.

The winter corner of Butterfly Island was quite lovely and charmingly strange. There were penguins skating on a rink that seemed also to be a dance floor. There was a snowman DJ. There were all kinds of weird things sticking up out of the ground.

As you can see, I was dressed very appropriately for the season. Ah, the wonders of SL! I should have got out my ice skates. Instead, I clicked on a couple of dance balls that seemed not to need a partner and boogied around with the penguins. I'll have to find out if there are ever any events on that corner. It's lonely exploring—and dancing—by myself!

Before I close... auld acquaintances shall not be forgot. Best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2008 to all and sundry!

The shortest day

I have been a terrible blogger. If anyone even bothers to check this blog any more, I apologize. I have actually been going in world a bit more often lately, since I escaped from school temporarily, but I haven't taken any photos, and I haven't really had any adventures. I finally caught up with Tatsuko the other day. I went to Umbra Penumbra a few days ago and got my new friend CodeBastard Redgrave to pop by and dance with me. On yet another night, I was dancing with my friend Wendy at a club the name of which I can't remember—some frozen beach club (only in SL, right?). I've IMed with a few people, including Patrice, who sent me a lovely Christmas card.

Fortunately, I have Twitter, which lets me stay in touch with people even when I'm not in world very much, but I'd really love to live my second life more often. I miss my friends.

On an entirely different subject, tomorrow officially has the least amount of daytime of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, which is where I live, and the most daytime in the Southern Hemisphere. At this hour, the official solstice has already happened. In this half of the world, at least in the temperate zone, Winter Solstice has long been a day of celebration, since in the days to come we will have more and more light. I love Winter Solstice and its association with light. I wish I could be in SL to celebrate the day with my dear friend Anwen, who is Wiccan.

May you hold the light of the darkest day in your heart, and maybe the increasing light in the days to come fill you with joy.

The It Girl

Apparently, I've been tagged—twice. Someone I don't know tagged me first. My friend Peter Stindberg tried but was too late.

Tagged—what is? I never know what the latest trends are. Heck, I might not even know what the not-so-latest trends are. I think this tagging thing isn't new. Or maybe it is. I'm the wrong person to ask.

According to Peter, I am now supposed to post eight random facts about myself. Considering I am a Second Life character who doesn't have enough time lately to have much of a second life, that might be difficult. Not to mention that this blog has become rather poopy with only occasional postings. I'm also supposed to find eight other people to tag, and I guess they can't have been tagged already. That is so not going to happen! Very likely, most everyone I know has been tagged by now.

Does this smell a bit like a chain letter? Some people are into chain letters. Some people find them fun and amusing. Or else they are actually superstitious, which is a bit scary. Fortunately, this tag game doesn't seem to have any element of superstition about it. I haven't seen any dire threats of doom if I break the chain. And it's kind of fun to see random facts about other people.

If I come up with eight random facts about myself, I'll let you know. I mean, if I can't even do that, there's not much point in trying to tag anyone, eh?

Oh Peter, I added a link to your blog. I didn't know you had one until recently.

Splash

I've been trying to make a little more time to get in world lately. I miss my Second Life and I miss my friends. I'm grateful when they IM me or respond to my IMs during those rare times when I'm around.

The US company I work for in first life let us out three hours early on Wednesday, the day before American Thanksgiving, so I was online at a time when I usually am not. I saw that my friends Caterin and Therese were online. Cat and Tess are from Europe, and I almost never get to see them because of the eight and nine hour time difference.

I sent Cat an IM to say hi. Turns out that she's already played her hundredth piano in SL! Last I saw her blog, she was at 99. (To find out what this piano stuff means, check out her blog via the link on the right.) She said it had happened unexpectedly when she was watching a jazz performance at the Meatspace Lounge by someone she knew. I immediately teleported over to the Meatspace Lounge on Tuli to nab myself a landmark (it's notably weird that the SL client has never allowed setting a landmark from a search without having to follow it first). While I was there, I found this gong that I couldn't resist whacking. It made a great sound! I'll have to get back there when there's a gig, because I love real jazz. No "soft jazz," please!

Meanwhile, Cat said that she and Tess were being mermaids and asked if I wanted to pop on over. I'd never done the mermaid thing before, so I thought it sounded like something worth trying out, not to mention that I would get to see Tess and Cat. So I found myself at EmeraldEver's Shop by the Sea, looking at mermaid gear. Turned out that Tess had bought a "fat pack" by mistake, so she offered me one of the mermaid sets in a colour she didn't want to keep. What a doll! I gratefully accepted the green outfit and put it on. I also bought the animation override, but I wasn't allowed to rez the box on that land! Dumb. So I skipped on that and just used the pose balls in the water.

We posed in the floating shell chairs and floated calmly in the warm water (I'm imagining that it was warm). My swimmer HUD didn't work as a substitute for the mermaid HUD, but no matter. It was just great to hang around with Cat and Tess and splash in the water. They were both up way past their bedtimes, so they didn't stay long, but I think we might be back there soon.