Category Archives: Showcases & Discount Rooms

The Arcade Closes at Midnight Saturday

This was when the aging smokestacks atop the monumental factories began to shut off one by one

“This was when the aging smokestacks atop the monumental factories began to shut off one by one. There were still plenty left running to keep the air over Detroit filled with that choking industrial aptitude, but you were never far from a hollowed-out factory, massive steel tubes on the roofs pointing up toward the sky with nothing left inside but dust and cobwebs. These giant pillars of concrete and metal now jutted high like extended index fingers from broken and casted hands, pointing toward something they would never touch.”
― Michael A. Ferro, TITLE 13: A Novel

This was when the aging smokestacks atop the monumental factories began to shut off one by one
The Arcade closes at midnight Saturday and if you let that happen without picking up the fabulous industrial pieces from NOMAD, you will miss out. The gacha has the delicious name of My Cozy Little Industrial Facility that cracks me up in the best possible way.
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Midori

Pink isn't just a color, it's an attitude

When I saw the Tentacio kimono outfit for The Arcade was named Midory, I had to try it. When I was in college, one of my friends was a student from Japan named Midori. Midori and Midory are the same, when languages written in other alphabets are written in our alphabet, the transliteration may vary. She came home with me for Thanksgiving and Christmas and I remember we put on quite the feast with steamed cucumbers stuffed with pork, gyoza, tempura, and other tasty foods. She had a few kimonos and insisted on dressing me up in one of hers. It was very fancy and after she wrapped that obi around my waist again and again and again, I thought I would never need a jacket. So here’s to Midori, who, to be honest, I cannot imagine ever wearing anything so short as this dress that bears her name.

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I‘ll Burn That Bridge When I Come to It

I'll burn that bridge when I cross it.

The Secret Store released a luscious skirt and top at Collabor88 in a wide range of colors. Fashions have become increasingly risque, with transparent fabrics and laces over opaque pieces that would have been lingerie a decade ago. It is one of those fashions that require discernment on the part of designers as it can easily veer toward overexposure and bad taste. In the sure and certain hands of Maylee Oh, though, it is on trend without crossing that line into tacky. How does she avoid the pitfalls? The waist is high enough to cover the navel and the cut of the legs are not too “cheeky.” The bra top is not so skimpy that there is any risk of nip slips and other exposure. This outfit reveals without exposing.
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Afternoon on a Hill

I will be the gladdest thing Under the sun! I will touch a hundred flowers And not pick one.

Edna St. Vincent Millay was not thinking of textiles when she wrote, “I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one,” but nonetheless, when I put on this dress from NOIR for Collabor88, I immediately thought of her poem, “Afternoon on a Hill” perhaps because of that line, but also perhaps because it describes so well, the joy and contentment a person can find in nature.

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!

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No Resolutions

No Resolutions

2018 is off to a rocky start with a five-day stay at the hospital. I am home again, thankfully, and recovering. Oddly enough, though, I seem to have picked up vertigo at the hospital. I know you can’t do that, but I did anyway. So the world is a spinny, dizzy, silly place. It’s really odd. I can turn to the left just fine, but turning to the right makes me dizzy. I see political implications in this. Turning to the right is bad for you.

What’s not bad for you? The refulgent abundance of this month’s fabulous Collabor88 showcase. The theme is Moody Blooms, a clever pun that is overshadowed by the rich, lush, floral blossoming of creativity to enjoy this month. For example, this gorgeous dress from Baiastice has a HUD that allows you to choose solids or the gorgeous floral lace. I love the luxe beauty. There’s this homage to medieval forms with the lines of the bodice. I love the lace peplum, though it’s more flattering than the usual peplum by laying close to the body rather than adding lots of width.
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A Quick Trip to Greenland

Curiosity that inborn property of man, daughter of ignorance and mother of knowledge when wonder wakens our minds, has the habit, wherever it sees some extraordinary phenomenon of nature, a comet for example, a sun-dog, or a midday star, of asking straigh

I stopped by Groenland today for a short visit. Most of the mass of Greenland is ice, but not on this sim. I guess it’s in one of the areas where the ice has been melting. It reminded me of “Rotten Ice” an excellent article in Harpers by Gretel Ehrlich. It seemed appropriate during the cold snap affecting much of America which prompted the popular-vote-losing President to show he does not know the difference between climate and weather. Sadly, far too many politicians don’t know the difference or they pretend not to know. Sometimes it’s hard to believe they are that ignorant, then I listen to Louis Gohmert and realize there’s no such thing as not too ignorant.

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Great Minds and All That

When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always
It cracks me up that Gidge was attracted to the same dress from Ambrosia at the Kurenai event. Not identical, though since she chose pink and I chose green which is kind of automatic for us if you think about it. I love the frilly romanticism that goes so over the top it becomes exactly right. Kind of like camp, if you do it, you can’t do just a little.
When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always
I have no explanation for why there are baby seals on my platform. They are far above any source of water but they appeared, they were cute, I let them stay, and so here they are. They were made my MishMash, can be found at Collabor88, and they are too cute to care if they have no rationale for being here.
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Tangled Up in Christmas

Keep Portland Weird

Christmas tree decorating in real life has always been a journey from joyful camaraderie to aggrieved frustration and back again. My family decorated a 17-foot tree and I decorated to top from the balcony off my bedroom while Mom and Dad decorated from below. This would not be so difficult, really, except Mom would get exercised if two ornaments of similar color were in proximity. It’s not that there were identical decorations since there were so many different ornaments, but a pink vintage ornament next to a pink modern ornament was not okay. The tinsel had to be individually draped placed, no tossing! But in the end it was always fun after the defective bulbs were identified and replaced, the tinsel evenly balanced, and the colors distributed with the precision of a drill team.

Keep Portland Weird

When I moved to Oregon, I had the brilliant idea of getting my own tree and chose the aromatic Western Red Cedar. It was beautiful! Until I tried to put an ornament on it, then the branch sagged and the ornament slid off. It had no oomph! I had to tie every ornament on the tree. A lot of work, but it sure did smell great. This tree from moss&mink at The Arcade was so much easier. Now if I could just rez it in my real life living room.
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Impervious to Cold

The season of cold impervious avatars has begun

Every holiday season I am amused by our avatar’s seeming imperviousness to cold. We rush about with open-toed shoes and barely there dresses in the snow and ice and not one of us feels a bit of cold. This gorgeous dress by Cynful for Collabor88 would be all covered up by a heavy coat in the real world.
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The days of winter sunshine

“This winter, there will be no voices, no glimpses, no arms. only the fabric of poetry, to keep me warm.”

“Are the days of winter sunshine just as sad for you, too? When it is misty, in the evenings, and I am out walking by myself, it seems to me that the rain is falling through my heart and causing it to crumble into ruins.”

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