Tag Archives: TRUTH

One stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night

one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night

“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.”
Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance

The Instruments, a monthly themed showcase of Second Life fashion and design opened today.  I was instantly drawn to BYRNE’s Eternal dress. It’s a shape I like and I love batik fabric. It always make me think of my three housemates in college who were from Malaysia and their seemingly endless supply of batik sarongs. It seemed like the only thing they ever wore. They gifted me with beautiful sarongs, though I never got the hang of making them secure enough to wear rolling skating like they did.

I like the form of the dress as well as the fabric. The ruffles complicated finding poses, of course, but that happens with most dresses that have ruffles off the side. I do wish the cuffs had not been rigged. It is easier to adjust the cuffs than adjust the arm. Alphas hide the arm, but the alpha cut on the mesh body did not line up with the cuffs, so I had to play around with my shape. It’s not that big a problem, I always save a copy and then go back to the original that I never edit.
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and it’s hard at the end of the day

And it's hard at the end of the day

When Sarah McLachlan wrote Angel, she was not thinking of the sort you might see in a Sunday school lesson, but one more like this perhaps. The song is about seeking comfort and escape from life’s pain through a needle, through heroin addiction to be precise. Inspired in specific by Jonathan Melvoin of Smashing Pumpkins who died of an overdose about 20 years ago, the more general inspiration came from McLachlan’s own experience of seeking comfort and reassurance from other drugs. McLachlan, when speaking about the song, seems to think the feelings of inadequacy, of insecurity, of alienation are part of the music industry. Personally, I think they are part of life.

And it's hard at the end of the day

there’s always some reason
to feel not good enough
and it’s hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
oh beautiful release
memories seep from my veins
let me be empty
and weightless and maybe
I’ll find some peace tonight

in the arms of the angel
fly away from here
from this dark cold hotel room
and the endlessness that you fear

I thoughy this blood-tipped “angelic” gown paired with the needle-sharp Say wings from Glam Affair would be a great representation of McLachlan’s “angel” whose comfort is only temporary unless, of course, it is the final comfort of death. Incidentally, Maylee Oh of The Secret Store who made this gown also made a video of her weight painting and texturing it and while I have no idea what she is doing it is strangely hypnotic to watch.

And it's hard at the end of the day

The gown is a gorgeous brocade with a delicate blood tip. You see more red in this picture than the other because of the red projector I was using to light the scene. The wings are white and plum and the projector lights them as well. I actually selected the plum textures in the wings and tinted them bright red to go with the dress and the jacket.

And it's hard at the end of the day

My shoes are from Hucci and are incredibly elegant. I love how the leather comes to a point and echoes the feathers and the wings.

And it's hard at the end of the day

I always wear lingerie under my clothes. After all, sometimes when you TP in, your clothes seem to arrive a few seconds after you do. Luxuria is my go to brand.

And it's hard at the end of the day

A chose Truth’s Anouk hair style with the color-change bands and Donna Flora’s Julia set with rubies.

And it's hard at the end of the day

My makeup comes from Glam Affair’s newest release Mavi, a Lelutka mesh head applicator. I opted for the brightest, reddest lipstick.

Store info at Blogging Second Life
****SHOPPING LIST******
Poses: Di’s Opera
HUDS: AnyPose Expression HUD v1.0 – Wear Me
Slink Ankle Lock
Skin: Glam Affair Mavi Asia
Mesh Attachments: .LeLutka.Mesh Head-STELLA v1.1
Slink Avatar Enhancement Feet High & Handas
Slink Physique Mesh Body V2.4 (ADD ME)
Appliers: Flair Mani-Pedi 13
Glam Affair Mavi Asia
Luxuria Serpentine Red
Eyes: pc eyes by LL – shallow water – medium
Hair: TRUTH HAIR Anouk
Clothing: [Slink]The Secret Store – Avianna Dress – Blood Dip @ Collabor88
[Slink]The Secret Store – Harpy Mantle – Blood Dip @ Collabor88
Glam Affair – Sya Wings Plum @ Collabor88
Shoes: ::HH:: Hucci Minerva Sandal – Collection (Slink) @ Collabor88
Jewelry: Donna Flora Julia
(Yummy) True Fate Ring – Gold – Rainbow @ Collabor88
Location: Kalopsia Broken Floor, anc Bubbles

Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate.

Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate.

Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate….J.R.R.R. Tolkien

I stopped by Faster Pussycat today and saw that Honey Bender-Auer had opened a new store across the plaza called BENDER. Featuring all original mesh and textures, it still has the rock superstar aesthetic that animates Faster Pussycat married to sleek and minimalist silhouettes. This Kyo dress was a must for me. I love how it echoes 18th century silhouettes that we are used to seeing in rich prints and maximal embellishment and here we see it in a solid silver, without visible seams or lines and not a trace of embellishment. It is a celebration of form and it is exquisite. I only have one quibble and it is minor. Since it is sleeveless it was not rigged to the arms or shoulders and so it is not very flexible when moving, It works well with most straightforward poses but if you raise your arms…well, just don’t do that. Thankfully, most of us do not run around SL with our arms raised.
Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate.

I used Flair’s Maitreya Fingernails °5 as the inspiration for the rest of my styling options including lipstick shade and shoes.
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Mini Vacation

My typist is going away for a few days so I told her that I would take a vacation too. I wanted to go somewhere unusual, and lucky for me Trompe Loeil has this new Outcrop Hut for a perfectly outdoorsy but restful few days away.  Continue reading

Symbiosis

Oxford English Dictionary definition of Symbiosis

Oxford English Dictionary definition of Symbiosis

The relationship between designers and bloggers has generated a lot of conversation lately — and that is certainly preferable to allowing anger, frustration and resentment to bubble beneath the surface. For me, though, many of these discussions spend too little time reflecting on the symbiotic relationship between blogger and designer and that leads to an unnecessary and misleading polarization of the issue. Bloggers and creators should not be polarized, because they need each other and their relationship is symbiotic, not parasitic.

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Don’t get me wrong. I roll my eyes when I see increasingly prescriptive demands from creators, but I understand where the motivation for these demands originate. There are more and more and more bloggers everyday. It is clear that several, though not most, people who decide to blog see it as an opportunity to get free stuff. There is plenty of evidence for this from Flickr posters soliciting “blog sponsors” without regard to their own aesthetic to the fact that I, a blogger who has made exactly two projectors for sale, get random notecards asking me to add people to my blogging team. Hah!

If you are sending me a notecard, you have not looked at what I make. If you have not looked at what I make, you don’t care about the quality or creativity or any of the other reasons someone would want to blog another’s items. You just want stuff.

I do not disapprove of a blogger contacting a designer. I have myself. However, I only do it when that designer speaks to me with their creations. When a designer’s work stands out from the crowd. When I have worn it and blogged it and know I love it.  When their work suits my taste and the way I think about clothing. Yes, then I will read their profile to learn how they recruit new bloggers and follow their instructions. I may be one of the “old guard”, but I still follow instructions. The key point though, is that I only ask if their work is something I would still wear and still buy, if and when I can afford it, whether they added me as a blogger or not.

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Good News

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I was very happy to read an update from Ziki Questi with the good news that Kylie Jaxxon is alive and as well as can be expected when living with leukemia. She is getting back on her feet and is deeply appreciative of all the community has done to keep her sim going during her absence. The fundraiser will continue as it is to raise funds for The American Cancer Society. Please read the update yourself for the good news.

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I do not know Kylie Jaxxson, but I love her sim. From it, I imagine her as someone who finds beauty in simplicity, in the raw and unadorned flotsam of life. I imagine a kind of serenity coupled with an ease with herself, that feeling comfortable in your own skin acceptance that is so rare. I could be wildly off the mark, but I don’t think so. I think we reveal ourselves when we create and landscaping is one of the most elemental forms of creation. There is something so relaxed and comforting in the simple tableaus at The Trace Too that I feel they must be drawn from the designer’s inner self.
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Modern Romance

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The Fernando gown from Dead Dollz is romance personified. I love the beautiful embroidered tracery of flowers and vines in that soft peach, blue and mint. I love the fitted bodice with the bouffant exuberant squirt and the sheer overblouse. the definition of the belted waistline. It takes so many elements of historical and folk costume and the result is completely modern. It borrows from the baroque to make something minimalist and resolutely of the the now. It’s just great design on every level.

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To Bed

Quiet reflection to end my day is proving more and more valuable every day. What went well? What did I get done? I know I didn’t accomplish everything but no one ever does. I feel good, overall, about my day. I’m going to sleep well, and I’m going to wake up ready to face my new work work.  

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Read Any Good Books Lately?

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Foxes has released this beautifully fitted and textured dress in a mind-numbing 24 different versions from sparked to ombres to solids with standard sizing and sizing for specific mesh bodies. Obviously, the Foxes creator has given up on sleep.

The long list for the  Man Booker prize was announced yesterday and I have only read one of them. That is one reason it is my favorite book list. It goes beyond bestseller lists and borders, elevating excellent fiction from all over the world. Usually by the time the next list is out, I have read my way through the list. It is changing, though, until 2013, the authors had to come from the Commonwealth and now it is open to authors from any country so long as they write in English and their books are published in the UK. For the first time there are five American writers on the list. Will this change the complexion of the list? I don’t know. I hope not.

I have been on a lucky streak lately, reading several good books in a row. Right now I am reading The Sellout by Paul Beatty, an hilarious satire of post-racial America. The protagonist’s father is killed by the police in what is supposed to be a ridiculously senseless and satirical example of police violence. Unfortunately, reality has surpassed satire on that score.

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A League Of My Own – Because Willis Took My Title

Every month after I pay tier I pick out something I want to get, usually something not small and treat myself. This month my goal was more appliers for my Lelutka face. I wear ARIA most of the time now (I feel like I should take the others for a stroll more often) and I’ve got a small closet of skins for it but my desire is that I can wear ANY of my favorite’s ANY TIME. I don’t want to take my head off to wear you.  Continue reading