Pied-à-terre

Sure enough, they'll be sellin' stuff
When the moon begins to rise
Pretty bad when you're dealin' with the man,
And the light shines in your eyes

"Come On, Baby, Let's Go Downtown" by Danny Whitten

Patrice and I now have a run-down one-room apartment in the Chinatown part of the soon-to-be-opened Downtown sim. No, we're not moving away from Beaver Beach. But Patrice has this fantasy.

She imagines us as supermodels who are holed up in a crummy flat trying to lose weight before a big fashion show by eating very little and doing drugs. So naturally, our flat is not in the best part of town. When I first beamed in, before I'd looked off the balcony, indeed before much had rezzed, I asked her if this was one of the brownstones. She said she'd got a place in Chinatown because it would be easier to get drugs. Just kidding, children! Drugs are bad, m'kay?

As well, the view is pretty cool. I love neon, and flopsie just showed me how to change a setting that's supposed to allow light sources to glow like when that hit of acid has kicked in (not set yet when I took this picture). Oh no, there we go with the drug references again! And I'm not sure if Downtown would be a good place to do psychedelics. I think you need your wits about you on the mean streets.

I told Patrice that this scheme might not work. See, we'll go down on the street to score, but we'll come back with a bunch of fried dumplings as well. So we'll be strung out and gain weight. We'll have to see!

Come On, Baby, Let's Go Downtown

New York New York, big city of dreams
And everything in New York ain't always what it seems
You might get fooled if you come from out of town
But I'm down by law and I know my way around

"New York New York" by E. Fletcher / Melvin Glover / Reggie Griffin / Sylvia Robinson

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five—now that's kicking it old school! And when it comes to New york, forget Disney-fied Times Square and scrubbed subway cars. No Rudy Giuliani or Michael Bloomberg here. Let's get down and dirty and gritty, but with class and charm as well.

On Tuesday, I had the privilege of seeing a preview of a new sim that will be opening early in May called Downtown. Our landlady flopsie McArdle was one of the builders, along with sim co-owner Natalie Defiant (gage Rousselot is the other owner), our friend Pushbutton Skolnik, Abbey Underall, and Trevor Turner. As flopsie describes it, Downtown is somewhere between the East Village and Brooklyn, and I can already tell that it's going to be a really exciting destination for lovers of the urban experience.

Patrice and I met flopsie at one of the five subway stations—actually, on one of the elevated sections. We were joined a while later by our friend, neighbour, and fellow Canuck Mischief Fairymeadow. The subway does not work yet, but it will. The attention to detail is amazing, something that I noticed throughout the tour. This is a subway that still has graffiti and flickering lights, although thankfully no DNA left behind by people with dicey hygiene habits. There are poses that let you sleep in the corner, sit and read, and hang onto the rail.

Since this was a station on the el, maybe we were in the Brooklyn part. The streets are dark and dingy, and again beautiful detailed. There will be all kinds of shops opening soon. Around the corner, we found ourselves in Chinatown, complete with hanging lanterns over the street and with yet more shops, including flopsie's store, for which the displays are vintage Communist-era posters. Nothing like a touch of neo-realism!

I was relying on my tour guide, because it would be easy to get lost in or below these streets. I know I was in a tunnel at one point, not sure of the way out, although somehow I did end up safely in a subway station. I also had to rely on Patrice sending me teleports, because I'd stop to take pictures, or go back to take pictures I'd forgotten to take, and lose the others.

Not all is grit and grime in Downtown. One street is lined with brownstones, again with terrific detail. I believe these are apartments that can be rented. Didn't see inside, but I imagine the detail doesn't stop at the outside. And right near the brownstone street is a park with an obelisk, half Nelson's Column and half Cleopatra's Needle, as well as a couple of low breast-like hills that Patrice made (my wife is obsessed!). This is a more open part of the sim, the part through which a river runs (flopsie says it's polluted).

We hit yet more cool stores. The record store is full of vinyl, with an animation that lets you browse. I love the detail of the baseball bat behind the counter. No trouble in this store! Oh, and a vintage cash register. Leave your debit card at home. Next door is a book shop, from the days before every bookstore had an espresso bar in it (although I did suggest adding one). There's even more cool stuff that I forgot to take pictures of, including a movie theatre and a club. And I just love the "PARK" sign for a parkade (that's "parking garage" for non-Canadian readers) with the "R" burned out. That's the kind of detail we're talking about here.

We ended up back where we'd started, or maybe at different el station. Just before Patrice and I left, we were joined by the fourth and final resident of Beaver Beach (our newly renamed parcel—double entendre intentional), Sarah Fouquet. The conversation got all nostalgic at that point. I am the baby of the bunch, but I've known all those girls for most of my Second Life. They've known each other even longer. Mischief's first rez day is coming up very soon! I'd better remember to get pictures of that party.

I was totally blown away by Downtown. When it opens, you have to check it out. It's about as far from the pastoral tranquility of Toscana as you can imagine. It's going to be a lively and interesting place to hang out.

The Espadrille Caper

The quest for Second Life shoes that approximate the espadrilles that Penelope Cruz wore in the film Volver continues, although I did find something at least in the ballpark.

Patrice in her comment on my last entry pointed me to the same shop I'd found through Style Disorder, so as soon as I had a chance yesterday, I went to Digital Dragon Designs. Once I got there, it took a lot of waiting for pictures to rez, a lot of flying around to find what I was looking for, and one false start (never be hasty on a purchase, it might cost you 300 lira), but I finally found the shoes that had been featured in the blog—not the stripy version, but the same shape.

On the plus side, they have the ridiculously high heel and not a bad side colour. The ones with black ties had black sides, and that was just wrong. And in general, they look pretty cute. On the minus side, those are ropes, not ribbons, and they're white. I can't wear them with enough outfits. As well, the side texture isn't quite what it ought to be—looks like a fabric texture, not rope (in fact, suspiciously like "linen" from the SL Library). Worse, at 400 lira, they are no bargain. For 400 lira, I would expect the ability to change shoe colour. I've paid a lot for shoes at, say, Coconut Ice, but there I get 140 colour options. So this purchase was OK but not entirely satisfactory.

If I could magically move shoes into SL from eBay, I found some pretty good candidates. This one on the left is the closest I've found to what I'm looking for—high-heeled, rope sole, open-toed, with ribbon ties. You can't really see how it would look tied up because the ribbons are lying by the sides, but I think it's a reasonable approximation that brings all the right components together.

This one on the right is also a pretty good match, with an even higher heel, although it ties with strings and not ribbons. Still, the overall look is pretty good.

I'm still looking for my ideal Penelope espadrilles on SL. I'll keep hoping that some designer also saw Volver, also fell in love with those shoes, and also noticed the demand in First Life, which I'm sure would translate into even more demand in SL.

Yes, I will leave fashion aside again for a while. I have something cooler coming up. I got a preview of an awesome urban sim that sets a new standard for detail and quality, not to mention serious grittiness. Next time, it's anti-fashion!

Cruz shoes

OK, back to fashion for a bit. SO and I saw Volver on DVD this weekend, and now I am on a mission. I must find an approximation of the espadrilles that Penelope Cruz was wearing. In general, her character in the film is a fashion disaster, but those shoes are to die for. Apparently, they come from a maker of espadrilles in Barcelona called La Manual Alpargatera and are a particular Catalan variety called espadenya, with the ribbon that laces up the ankle.

A bit of Googling showed me that apparently I'm not the only one looking for these shoes. Of course, those people are looking for the shoes in First Life, which would be lovely, but I need them in Second Life.

SL is crawling with talented designers, including people who make shoes. Yet I find no espadrilles like these at Shiny Things, my favourite all-around shoe store. I have some awesome ankle-ribbon shoes from Coconut Ice, but they are stilettos. The search engine in SL Boutique is hopeless. I did a search for "espadrilles" at Linden Lifestyles and came up with only one hit for shoes that in fact are not espadrilles at all (they're not wedges, for one thing), let alone the coveted espadenya style. No hits at all at the Second Style Fashionista Blog. What's a girl to do?

Impossibly high wedges. Rope texture. Ribbons that lace up the ankle. I mean, come on, these are just so SL. Someone must make them. Or someone ought to. Au secour!

But wait. Is Style Disorder going to come to the rescue? I don't check that one regularly. Perhaps I should. A search produced one actual hit. Not quite what I'm looking for, but maybe close enough for rock and roll. We shall see!

Tranquility base

First Life has cut into my Second Life time lately, not to mention my blogging time, and will continue to do so at least for the week coming up. Work, gardening, volunteering, chores—it all adds up. Oh, and in SL, I have a story due at the end of the week for which I am still doing interviews. So forgive me, gentle readers, for going with a bit of an evergreen. But it's something I wanted to write about anyway.

I met Cahide Meadowbrook at Patrice's and my wedding. Patrice had met her earlier at the Blue Note jazz club, where Cahide was at the piano. Cahide was managing a club that was about to open called the PowerPlant, and she offered Patrice a job as a host. Just minutes after I'd met her, she offered me a host job as well, which I accepted with gratitude.

Later, I met her butler Charles Nighbor, who was working as personnel manager at the PowerPlant. Like Cahide, he is English, and a proper English gentleman he is. Charles is one of the few people I know in SL who is not young in appearance. Since he is somewhat older in FL, his avatar reflects that—balding, with white hair and a trimmed white beard.

Cahide and Charles are two of the best people I know in SL. Even though the PowerPlant didn't work out (it's closed now), we have remained friends. While I was working for them and ever since, they have always been kind and generous to me, exemplary bosses and exemplary friends.

A short while ago, I gave Charles a ping. I hadn't seen him in some time, and I wanted to remedy that. He beamed me to the parcel where he and Cahide live on a sim called Kawaii, which seems to be kind of a cross between Hawaii and the Japanese countryside.

Charles gave me the full tour. They live in a mostly Japanese style house, except for one of two living rooms, which has western lounge chairs. The place is on the ocean and surrounded by gardens with butterflies and bird sounds. It is quite a restful place.

Just before I had to go, we were sitting in the "western" living room, and Charles demonstrated the weather system they had installed, which is what you see in the photo, which I finally remembered to take! First, it was raining. Then, there was something much more northern Japan than Hawaii—snow! We continued to chat as we sat and watch the peaceful scene.

Charles has been busy since then. His current project is building a cave for his new neighbour, who is a hermit. He has already built some sort of small prayer spot on top of a very steep hill. Next time I visit, I will have to take more pictures.

I am thankful that I have friends like Cahide and Charles in SL.

Sonic Reducer

Last night, I had the most fun anyone can have with their clothes on. I was the DJ for about two and a half hours at my favourite club in Second Life, the Velvet. The regular Tuesday DJ, the beautiful Qualsha Nordberg, is taking a break for a bit, so club owner Pushbutton Skolnik (Push) is having "rotating DJs" on Tuesday nights. Having ripped just about enough music, and having equipped myself with the right software, I got in touch with Push on Sunday to ask if she had any slots available. When she said, how about Tuesday, I just about plotzed.

I frantically ripped even more music. I found a cross-fade plug-in for the Winamp player. I made sure I'd be able to connect properly to the Velvet SHOUTcast server. See, streaming music into Second Life is easy, except when it's not. As with any electronic process, there are numerous things that can go wrong—not quite the right software, a firewall in the way, a mistake in the port number. But once I had overcome a few glitches, I was as ready as I was going to be.

People have their own peculiar collections of music, and I'm no exception. I would love to own everything that people want to hear—at least of songs that I like—but you don't want all DJs to be alike, playing the same music, right? So even though I want more stuff, my collection is what it is, and I'm not sorry about that. Before going onto the web to get more, what I have available includes some classic rock (more '60s than '70s), a bunch of old school punk, various bits of '80s new wave, a generous helping of '90s grunge, bands from Boston you might never have heard of, and enough Canadian content—"CanCon," as we say up here—to keep the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission happy.

(And this is not counting the reggae and Cajun that I might rip when I get a chance, or the folk, jazz, and classical that will probably remain on the shelf—not much demand to dance to Carmina Burana, eh?)

Push set a punk theme for the contest, so even though I wasn't constrained to play only punk rock, I did want to skew in that direction. That reduced the available tracks a bit! As well, some of what I have just doesn't fit the Velvet, at least not when Push is listening. So I didn't segue into INXS's "Bitter Tears" or "Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil. Some other time, some other venue! I got a bit of grief for playing Soundgarden—the consensus was that guitarist Kim Thayil is punk, but vocalist Chris Cornell is not—but in general people were kind and generous and supportive, and showed the love to my tip jar.

If anyone thinks DJing is easy, let me disabuse you of that notion. It's possible to put an entire set together in advance, but I find it better to be at least somewhat spontaneous. I want to see how people are responding to what I'm playing, and make adjustments if necessary. Staying only a song or two ahead also lets me accommodate whichever requests I can fulfill. So being a DJ is not a relaxing thing! I've seen Barely Schlegal pull down more than two grand in tips, and let me tell you, he's earning every Linden penny.

By the end of the night, I was exhausted, but I can't wait to do it again! I've already made three improvements—a better cross-fade plug-in, a plug-in that sends song information to the server (didn't know I needed that, and I hope it works), and a compressor/limiter plug-in, which I certainly hope works with SHOUTcast, because it's way better than having to adjust the volume for different source material.

Big thanks to ComradeX Munson, who told me about the basics of getting set up. More thanks to Merik Drebin, who patiently let me test my connection repeatedly with her SHOUTcast server (you can hear Merik streaming, and maybe me too at some point, at the Anarchy Club). Thanks to Push for letting me lose my SL DJ virginity at her club and for being generally supportive. Thanks to Jasper Haifisch, one of the regular Velvet DJs, for his kind words and support all night. And as always, thanks to Patrice, who believes in me.

Unstuck in time

In the courtyard in front of the Velvet on Iron Fist, there is a memorial to Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I think club-owner Push started it, or maybe someone else associated with the club. (I didn't ask—too busy trying to connect to the Velvet stream so I can DJ. But that's another story.) There is a photograph of Vonnegut on one side and a quote from him on the other. What's really touching, however, are all the little tributes people have left in front of the memorial, flowers and the like. I saw one that seemed particularly appropriate—an ashtray with a burning cigarette in it.

I have read Slaughterhouse Five more times than I can remember, and have seen the film more than once. I read God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. I saw the film Mother Night, and I can remember enjoying From Time to Timbuktu on television when I was a kid. So I am not a major Vonnegut fan, and certainly not an aficionado of his work. Still, I greatly appreciate what I know of his work, and I'm sure I would enjoy more if I took the time to do more reading. His death is a great loss.

Kurt Vonnegut spent time in Second Life. If he could see the memorial and the spontaneous tributes, I'd like to think he would be pleased. I don't know how long Push is going to leave it up, but if you're into it, you might want to beam over there and leave your own tribute.

Po-tee-weet.