Cajsa Fast Five: March 7th

Fast Five
Five great posts today! From high concept couture to cute and cozy, there’s a lot of variety. The non-fashion posts include a good tutorial and an example of amazing self-awareness and self-examination.

  1. Thanatos: This is one for the guys. Carthalis Rossini shows off some new skins from The Men’s Department that are so striking and high concept that they make me want to see something similar for women.
  2. Roxi Bluewood: Roxi Bluewood contributes a brutally honest self-examination to the Connecting: 365 SL Lives project. If only we could all be so honest with ourselves. 
  3. Tips & Tricks: Winning the Inventory Cleanup Battle: Hamlet Au wrote and article for New World Notes after reading this extensive and comprehensive tutorial on inventory cleanup. Hamlet points out that the difficult work of managing our inventory is another reason to charge for excessive inventories. I will leave that debate to the comments on his article, but I did want to encourage folks to check out the tutorial.
  4. Persephone: Dantelicia Ethaniel’s post features a beautiful and moving picture. I always am excited to see what she posts because she is the most free and experimental of all SL fashion photographers and bloggers.
  5. Simplicity: Naraelina Ordinary’s post is adorable. I love the photo and the epistolatory format of her post. It feels like getting a letter from an old friend, cosy, confiding and casual.

This Could Be Hazardous

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I have been seeing wonderful pictures from Hazardous and had to drop by for a visit. I was feeling chic and sophisticated in the fabulous Ariana sheath dress from Kunglers. It comes in several colors, but this marble version natural colors appealed the most to me.

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I though I might share this shot from Hazardous. I will be adding it to Sasy Scarborough’s  Second Life Stock Images pool. The Stock Images pool is an archive of photos that people are welcome to use as backgrounds in photos. You should check it out. Many are pictures from sims that no longer exist, but you can revisit them in photos.

 

 

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Make Mine a Sarsaparilla with Phosphate

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I headed out to an old-fashioned diner thinking I would like an old-fashioned soda. When I was a child, it was an 85 mile drive to go to the eye doctor, so mom always gave me a special treat taking me to this old-fashioned diner that served phosphates. I always ordered a sarsaparilla phosphate and just the thought of one makes me thirsty and homesick and of course, makes me miss my mom. I stopped off at the Roadside Diner and I would have ordered a sarsaparilla phosphate, but the jerk was obviously taking a long, long break.

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Fast Five: March 6th

Fast Five Today’s fast five includes advice for selling lindens that sounds like good advice for buying lindens as well, a fabulous post that was shot with real imagination and some other worthy things to check out.

 

  • How to Sell Lindens: Gogo explains how to maximize your money when selling lindens, though clearly the advice would also be useful for buying lindens, too. 
  • Underneath This Adolescent Sky: Magenta DeVinna blogs about the Pilot Dollhouse from The Arcade Gacha. You have to check out her photos. She used such with and creativity, that I am sure this is the best use of the Dollhouse ever.
  • Like Sisyphus, Only Not: This is an oh, wow! photo from Whiskey Monday. I know I just highlighted a post from her, but this is so good you don’t want to miss it just because I want to avoid repeating myself.
  • Blasphemy: From our own Hybie Minx, for her fabulous travel blog. This post makes me want to go shoot there right now. I particularly love the last picture. It’s so bold and graphically striking that I can see it as a fabulous background for a photo featuring an avant garde dress.
  • DJ Exclusive: Interview with…: Piedmont Cartauld has another exclusive DJ interview and you will never guess with whom. No clues, you have to go look.

Soilent skin?

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Have I been to The Arcade, hmmmm… Want a cakepop? Or how about a cute pink elephant? Actually, I have not yet been to The Arcade, but I’ve been the joyful recipient of other people’s largess. All of the stuff I’m wearing is a gift from someone who was kind enough to shuffle me a bunch of cuteness. (Thanks, Kat!) I’m so overjoyed that Pink Fuel is doing colorful skins. I adore richly saturated skin colors, and these suit me perfectly. Gotta gatcha ’em all, now!

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Antlers: Half deer eternum antlers (triangulate) from The Arcade
Skin: Pink Fuel Gacha 07 – Elphaba from The Arcade
Hair: Clawtooth Surfer Rosa in girl next door from The Arcade
Elephant: Intrigue Co. plushie pals: tiny the elephant from The Arcade
Pops: Tee*fy candy cake pops set from The Arcade
Dress: Ingenue Onde in seafoam
Boots: Lassitude & Ennui Lazy Boots in oxblood

All Summer in a Day

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Yesterday my cat acted like a lunatic, running from one end of the apartment to the other, howling at the ceiling, even standing on the back of the couch on his hind legs, pawing at the air above his head and howling. He seemed to have taken leave of his senses. Today when he was back to his usual placid self, it clicked for me. Yesterday was a bright, beautiful sunny day and I had the window blinds all the way up to let all the sun in. Today it’s back to gloomy, cloudy rain. His reaction reminded me of a favorite short story by Ray Bradbury called All Summer in a Day. I remember reading it for the first time in 8th grade English class and actually crying in class. I found a short video on YouTube, cheekily low-budget and totally faking the ending. The filmmaker probably thinks people can’t handle the real ending which is a stark look at childhood cruelty without a Hollywood ending of redemption.

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Cajsa’s Fast Five: March 5th

Fast Five Today the Hula Hoop is 50 years old. More accurately, the patented Hula Hoop is 50 years old. Something tells me that people may have put hoops around their waists and held them suspended by swiveling their hips before there was ever a patent office. I also have five great posts for you to check out .

  1. Valena Vacano: Valena Vacano chronicles her long, frustrating, but ultimately successful struggle to find her niche in Second Life for the Connecting: 365 Lives project. She brings honesty and rigor to her story. 
  2. Sliding, But Not Dead – Inara Pey provides a broad and reasonable assessment of Second Life’s overall health. There’s no declarations of doom, but neither any starry-eyed optimism.
  3. Sugar’s Style & Grasp, Amacci – Sugar Planer put together an adorable casual outfit that makes me want to run out and tap some sugar maples, collect the sap and set it to simmering away on the wood stove.
  4. Owlfit #183 – Goizane Serenity tickles my funny bone with her photo for this post. It’s cheeky and fun and I love how well she did finding a setting that suited her outfit and her idea for the post.
  5. Mount Rush Moose: Today’s edition of Where’s Dim Sum just made me laugh and laugh. I love that blog!

Five Things I Love About Yardsailing

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I admit it, I love the gacha yard sales. I call it yardsailing as I flit from place to place, looking for the items on my shopping list, the things I want, the things I need, those things I covet. Some things I love about it: Continue reading

Cajsa’s Fast Five: March 4th

Fast Five March 4th is not just a date, it’s an imperative. So please do march forth and check out these excellent posts that I discovered today.

 

  1. The Heroic Imagination Project. GreenLantern Excelsior challenges people to write about their heroes in Second Life, to share stories of people helping people in SL and share. The writer explains the bystander effect which can allow people to stand by and do nothing, but can also urge and encourage people to act. Excelsior seems to hope sharing examples will elicit more heroic and helping behavior. 
  2. Fantasy Faire 2013 Kickoff Announcement: Inara Pey shares the initial announcement and information for stores and creators who wish to be be involved in this huge event and RFL fundraiser.
  3. 514 Words. Whiskey Monday has a thought-provoking photo that leaves the viewer filled with questions – as art should.
  4. 435 – Kyrie Source always shoots such powerful photos and this is one of her most striking. Her styling often juxtaposes elements that should clash, but don’t. It’s simply wonderful to see what she can do.
  5. Deathwish – This is a fabulous post from Petra Messioptra who never fails to shoot amazing photos.

Cultural Appreciation

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Bilo is one of the most unique clothing brands in Second Life. In additional to the usual Western style designs, Bilo’s Mayaa Thistle also designs clothing drawn from Islamic fashion aesthetics such as this lovely caftan adorned with a wonderful fabric featuring an intricate pattern that developed from the focus on nonrepresentational figures in Islamic art. It is refreshing to see Islamic fashion represented with respect and accuracy in Second Life. When it is as lovely as this caftan,  it’s doubly rewarding.

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