Best Old Blues I Ever Done Had: Buddy's in Second Life

Location: Buddy's Club, Skyes Stand

My old friend Twyla Tomorrow, former manager of HippiePay, IMed me seconds after I logged on.

"Wanna see something?"

I'm game, because Twyla is usually busy. It had to be important. And it was. We met by the stage at Buddy's, a club run by Limerick Ireland native Derric Foggarty.

That night, SL singer/songwriter Von Johin was on stage, and I was floored. This is the sort of blues I pay a LOT to hear live in the world of matter, and there I was, dancing like a madman (the only way to dance) with Twyla right by the stage.

This is a shout-out to Derric and a call to you all to visit more live-music venues in both lives. These musicians will go silent if we don't support them.

For a full list of events at Buddy's, hop over to their blog at Blogspot.

New Show at Olivia's Art Garden

Location: Commerce Sim, Olivia's Art Garden Opening
I'm continually impressed by what I see in the SL artistic community. Sure, we can recreate venues and modes of expression possible in the world of matter, but in SL we can do even more.

Feathers Boa, for instance, creates "fully immersive pieces, interactive digital 'paintings,' giant robots, aesthetically innovative avatars, and full architectural builds." It is amusing to have a painting of a clockwork robot reach out for you as your stroll by.

I'll be back to see more; the exhibit grabbed me in many ways. There's also a feature piece on Boa's artwork in ROLE Magazine.

Kalle Contepomi's "World Downfall 4in frame" and "World downfall 10in frame" impressed me, because I consider post-apocalyptic art one of the most vital forms of expression for our times.

Conempomi juxtaposes images of wreckage with, in "10in frame," an avatar dressed in a festive dress with glowing white go-go boots, It's as if she's just come from a party to find herself at the world's ending.

We need doomsday rubbed in our party-goer faces, because every day our tailpipes, power-plants, car-based civilization, and outsized consumption make the day of reckoning that much closer. But it's hard to wallow in such musings. Maybe such art will spur action, not despair.

This artist's work is not all about the end-times; his "The House" looks like something Wyeth might do on acid...I was actually chilled by the clever composition of this piece.

After Conempomi, I needed a bit of respite, and Olivia's own photographs of natural settings, as well as Lolly Dovgal's black and white photographs brought me back to a modicum of comfort.



Olivia has an eye for old cars, too. I also take junkyard photos, so I had to see her work "Rusty," that captures an old Buick-in-ruins, and "Old Blue," of the sort of old truck I'm always longing to save from perdition.

List of artists showing:

Atomic Gaffer - Sculpture
Balthasar Constantine - Fractal Art
Catriana Ninetails - Original oil and water color
Feathers Boa - with *NEW* reactive art pieces
Friday Karu - Real World painting, photography, and printmaking
Kalle Contepomi - *FEATURED ARTIST* with his dark interpretation of the Apocalypse
Lolly Dovgal - Real World Photography
Lou Laa - Gazebo Build
Olivia Hotshot - Real World Photography (oceans & vehicles)
Zizi Rabeni - Digital Art "Seven Deadly Sins"

MetaPlace: I'm a Toon

Location: MetaPlace, in My Living Room

Well, I've always been a Toon.

MetaPlace is a virtual world that enables content creation and is Web-based. It was frightfully easy to get started.

Now little bobble-head IggyO is in his virtual living room. He watched a video about the potential of MetaPlace.

I'm liking the fakeness of this virtual world. And unlike OpenLife, I'm not a friggin' cloud. I cannot be bald or in dreads, yet...but so far, this looks entertaining. I had the avatar do a little dance in all his pixelated glory.

A Tale of Two Bots, Part 2

Location: J&M Creations, Nebo

I learned about these bots some time back--"Barbara" at Sunland's camping/freebie store, who has been quizzed by both Pappy Enoch and Beeble Baxter, is one of J&M's early models. These bots are both more limited and lot cheaper than the Daden Robotars.

After teleporting to the shop, I spent some time quizzing "Mirna," the Robotar 2.0 on duty. She works as a sales assistant, and of course I did my best to trip her up--I wish I'd brought Pappy or Beeble along to really jazz things up. They both know how to trip bots up with odd questions. So I tried my best:

Ignatius to Mirna: may I take your photo?
Mirna to Ignatius: Not right now, maybe later.
Ignatius to Mirna: do you always turn to face an avatar?
Mirna to Ignatius: Not always. I have never considered it. I answer a lot of silly questions.
Ignatius to Mirna: what is the silliest question?
Mirna to Ignatius: A lot of people ask me to marry them.
Ignatius to Mirna: did my friend Pappy Enoch ask you to marry him?
Mirna to Ignatius: I'm not certain whether I can give an accurate reply or not.
Ignatius to Mirna: what do you say to people who ask you to marry them?
Mirna to Ignatius: You tell me.
Ignatius to Mirna: I would say no
Mirna to Ignatius: Ah.

I crashed at about this point. Then I logged back in and had some fun:

Ignatius to Mirna: did you miss me?
Mirna to Ignatius: Yes , I've been thinking about you.
Ignatius to Mirna: really? what were you thinking?
Mirna to Ignatius: For real. I was minding my own business.
Ignatius to Mirna: did you miss me?
Mirna to Ignatius: Yes , I've been thinking about you.
Ignatius to Mirna: what?
Mirna to Ignatius: No problem.
Ignatius to Mirna: did you miss me?
Mirna to Ignatius: Yes , I've been thinking about you.
Ignatius to Mirna: thank you for your help
Mirna to Ignatius: You are quite welcome! Your purpose is my help.

So when compared to the Daden Robotars, Mirna is limited. That said, she'd be a fine shop-assistant, notecard-giver, or chat-recorder (all features that the J&M bots offer). It may have been lag, but she seemed to glide, rather than walk, as Daden's Halo could do. Still, for 9000 Linden Dollars, J&M offers a product worth considering.

I just don't think she's ready for a literature simulation. Well, maybe for a Beckett play simulation...Visit J&M and have a look for yourself.