Tag Archives: Jalwa

Would you update your viewer in the middle of a photo shoot?

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Normally my answer would be “Hell to the No” but when I was shooting these pictures today, I figured it could not possible get worse and might get better. So when I saw there was a new update, I went for it. I have not been able to save a photo to disk since Monday and was saving raw shots directly from the SL viewer to Flickr. The photos for this post are raw, unedited pictures. They have not even been cropped. I know Flickr has a photo editor, but I don’t like it. Still, it turns out fine. I just like to play with a few little touch ups now and then. I am wearing a fun and adorable sailor sweater and flared skirt from MotiAme that I found at Kustom9 when I dropped by to throw money at Apple Fall, as one does. The sweater comes in gray, brown, blue, black, red and white. The skirt is in black, white and blue. They fit together well and have a lovely early fall feeling – for those days with brisk breezes, a bit of mist in the air and moments of sunshine. October in Oregon.
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You Got Me Singing

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One of the rules I live by comes from Voltaire, who said “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” A similar idea is attributed to Confucius, “Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.” I really took this aphorism to heart when a friend of mine was writing a book on dismantling racism. I was reading, editing and helping him find illustrations. The book was ready to go for a few years before it was published because he kept trying to perfect it, looking for a better example, a more perfect metaphor, a stronger anecdote, a better adjective. I ended up making him a sign on a huge poster board with Voltaire’s quote blown up big and stuck in on the wall by his desk. It still took him another six months to let it out of his perfection-seeking hands.

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I was listening to Leonard Cohen’s newest album, Popular Problems. His 80 year old voice is rough, dry and imperfect, but those imperfections give it such an emotional resonance that my skin prickled and raised goosebumps and my eyes became hot with emotion ready to brim over in tears. While listening, that quote from Voltaire came to mind again and I had a small epiphany. The perfect is the enemy of the good in another way – not only does the search for perfection paralyze us, but it also does not move us emotionally. Thinking of another Canadian singer, Celine Dion has perfect pitch. Her voice is flawless and strong and she has never once moved me emotionally. Even singing songs with sentimental lyrics, she leaves me cold and I don’t care for her at all. Perfection is not beautiful, imperfection is.

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Be Afraid

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Alexander McQueen once said he wanted people to be afraid of the women he dresses. I thought of him when I put this dress on. McQueen was one of those who brought panniers back into fashion. He also designed cage skirts, though nothing like this one from Datrip Blackbart of Legal Insanity. The panniers do create an imposing silhouette. Add that to the almost gladiator-like design from Blackbart and you have reason to be afraid, to be very afraid. Afraid that if you don’t get down to FASHIONART, the fabulous fair celebrating the fusion of art and fashion that opened this morning, you will miss out.

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I am in love with the attention to detail. Look at the tiny bows where the pannier meets the dress, the piping under the bodice and the embellishment along the edge of the center panel. It is all exquisite detail that sets this dress apart. IT comes in several colors and prints include a punk version that I love just as much as this one. Continue reading

And down by the shore an orchestra’s playing

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This month’s Genre showcase is the big band era, those few decades when men were dashing in top hats and tails and women were elegant in gowns full of drama and glamour. No wonder I chose oOo Studio’s Glamorous and Drama pose series for this photo set.

When they begin the beguine
It brings back the sound of music so tender
It brings back a night of tropical splendor
It brings back a memory ever green

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This opalescent Satin Doll gown from Cog & Fleur is all sinuously sexy and full of drama with the low back and the softly draping silk charmeuse fabric that is so lustrous in the projector lights. I suppose that with the dress being named Satin Doll, I should have used Johnny Mercer’s song, but I don’t really like it that much – and went for this Cole Porter classic instead.

I’m with you once more under the stars
And down by the shore an orchestra’s playing
And even the palms seem to be swaying
When they begin the beguine Continue reading

All Good Things Come to an End

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Three very good things are coming to an end. The quarterly gacha festival at The Arcade ends today. The annual Skin Fair has ended and the March cycle of Collabor88 is nearing its end as well. If you have been waiting for the crowds to thin before going in for your mad shopping spree – today’s the day. This post features a little from all of them. The lovely skirt suit is from u.f.o. for Collabor88. It’s the quintessential suit for the modern professional woman.  Continue reading

Industrial Chic

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Leather Sleeve Pullover from House of Fox – Color.Me.H.O.F at Collabor88

It makes sense that Industrial Chic has come back into fashion in this age of economic insecurity with the middle class fading into the working class. The fashions are a form of solidarity with labor – the use of metals, the hard and soft fabrics, the utilitarian forms and simple silhouettes all avoid blinged out conspicuous consumption in favor of working class colors and practicality. But it’s chic, so there are details that elevate it from banality, details like the inset leather sleeves in this top from House of Fox.

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Grooveallegiance

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For if our cause was unjust
We couldn’t bring this funk to you.
So we feel that it’s a must
It is something we should do

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Let me take you by the hand
And spread the funk across the land
It’s not hard to understand
Heading for the master plan…

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Pardon me, but I can tell
We know each other very well
Take my funk and let it grow
And then we’ll funk some more

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No 15: In The Garden

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Every church I attended when I was growing up had the Gospel Hymnal with all the songs numbered to help people find them quickly. We all knew Number 60 was The Old Rugged Cross. Dad’s favorite was No. 234, Children of the Heavenly Father, a traditional Swedish hymn that he preferred to sing in Swedish. For Mom, it was Higher Ground and for some reason I cannot remember its number for certain, though I think it was 117. Mine was number 15 – In the Garden.

I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.
And he walks with me and he talks with me
And he tells me I am his own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known.

That songs speaks to the ecstatic experience – which though associated with faith can be experienced by anyone in the presence of absolute beauty. I remember the first time I had such a moment. I was six and visiting my sister and her family. We were at the Falls and exploring this garden that had a floral clock and the mist rose up from the falls making everything and everyone fall away. It seemed I was a alone in a fog of flowers. I stopped still and remember wondering if it was real or if I were dreaming. It was a profound experience, a kind of joy born solely out of beauty. I remember feeling the same way when I was a senior in high school and sitting in the gardens of the Alhambra. I was resting alone in a gazebo made of bougainvillea, sketching the fountain in front of me and suddenly the sunlight struck the water drops in such a way they seemed like prisms, radiating color in the air. It took my breath away and I again felt that strange feeling of unreality, a sort of “pinch me, I must be dreaming” moment, except you would never want to pinch yourself out of such joy. Continue reading

Prevention Is Everything

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This is full of stuff from Collabor88, including the sign from floorplan. and the dress from League.

There is a saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Well, when it comes to suicide, many times prevention is everything because there is no cure after death. Today is Suicide Prevention Day around the world and I wanted to take a moment to highlight a group in Second Life® that is doing their best to support people who are contemplating or have attempted suicide by connecting them to real world therapy and resources as well as providing information and support in-world. The Survivors of Suicide is a group of about 400 people who maintain an information center and informal drop-in center with group support meetings on Sundays and Mondays.

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As you can see there is a lot of information. I dropped in to look around and there’s a room for folks to hang out, a game room and even a little shop to raise money to support the group’s land fees, etc. There were about a half dozen folks hanging out, all very friendly and welcoming even though I was just stopping by for a peek for the blog. I suppose we all know someone who has committed suicide. It has happened in my family. One brother-in-law shot himself when he became so sick with cancer, emphysema and cirrhosis that he could not live with it any more. Another brother-in-law drowned himself when the umpteenth different drug trial failed to treat his depression and his insurance company informed him that he has reached his lifetime maximum benefit and he would no longer be covered by insurance for anything. That is a cruelty of the health care system that will be eliminated by Obamacare on January 1st. The aftermath of suicide is a horrible trauma for families, one that is not really eased that much by understanding the motives and decisions. So this group is doing important work. You should check them out and be aware of what to look for and how to help family and friends who are in despair.

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Circumnavigation

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This simple little dress from Drift is a perfect summer dress, loose-fitting and casual. It comes with a HUD so you can choose all the colors. In fact, it comes with two textures, a cotton knit and this lovely satin and each texture has its own little hud full of color. However, I thought I would wear it with some leggings because it was a little breezy and I was afraid the wind would catch it and cause an indiscretion. The Lydia Slingbacks that Ingenue did for Collabor88 are as perfect as can be.

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The bolt leggings from MichaMi sure look great with it. I had to go to XS to get it to fit under the dress, but that okay since the dress covers the skinny butt. Well, not completely. When I walked, the dress and leggings intersected from behind, so moving was more of a circumnavigation so that I faced forward.

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