capax infiniti

Yesterday, I found a myspace account that I didn't know existed. Of course there is a blog attached to the profile, and in it the writer mentions how wonderful life is. How much it has improved since he freed himself of certain poisonous influences.

Of course, it's the blog of someone I used to be very close to. Close enough to know that I (and my virtual world) was not the only poison in his life then. But I certainly was one of them. And yes, it hurts to know that's how I showed up in the debriefing. It hurts even more to not have been invited to the debriefing, but ehhh ... I was ever a symptom, and not the disease.

I wish him well. He shaped my Second Life. He taught me what I could absorb. He showed me what was possible and influences my aesthetic decisions to this day. From him I learned to work for my Second Life, and the satisfaction of self-supporting in game.

If nothing else, I have to thank him for anime, for Corey Taylor and for the beautiful build that is Idle Rogue.

Along with all the other poisons, I have been removed from his system. I guess I'm okay with that.

Consummatum est

Dear You

Dear You,

You came into my life when I was very broken. And you were a joy. You didn't understand why I was broken, but you understood that I was, and you set about making me smile. I always thought of you as a gift from a dear friend, who may not know what he had given me. As I healed, I came to look forward to seeing you.

We had the best fun.

I want you to know that every minute we spent together was brilliant. Every thought that you expressed found a home here. Everything I ever said to you, and everything I ever said about you, was real, was true, and remains true to this minute.

you move like I want to
to see like your eyes do
we are downstairs where
no one can see
new life break away
tonight I feel like more
tonight I
you make the water warm
you taste foreign
and I know you can see
the cord break away
cause tonight I feel like more
tonight I feel like more
tonight I feel
feel like more(tonight)
you breathed
then you stopped
I breathed then dried you off
and tonight
I feel like more
tonight

The Big Show

Inspiring, exhausting, intimidating, creative, time-consuming, rewarding.Way more good than bad.

Idle Rogue is producing a show. It is my current obsession, so much so that disappointments in other areas of my life are rendered disinteresting. If you're finding yourself a little ignored, sorry, but I'm busy.

It all started when I discovered the singer for my favourite band was launching solo performances. I immediately booked him and he performed following a performance of The Beautiful Freaks Burlesque Circus. The dancers loved him, I've always loved him, and he loved us right back. It seemed a natural progression that we should work together, but the project took months to warm up, because of commitments on both sides.

Bowie Bravin is a prolific and talented musician. He collaborates electronically with musicians across the globe. He is a buoyant and dynamic personality and a pleasure to work with. His voice is an absolute gift, and lucky me, I spend a portion of each day listening to it.

Bowie and Deep Sky Traveler both give an amazing show experience, with lighting, special effects and warm personalities. Beautiful Freaks likes to hand out an experience, too. So the challenge, for us, has been to make a show that looks astonishing and provides a foil for Bowie's talent, but equally, ours.

Enter Slappy Doobie. Friends will know that Slappy is my not only my best friend, but my collaborator, mentor and yes, idol. I have yet to see her fail at achieving something she set out to do. She is a legendary builder and a gifted graphic artist. She brings a wealth of rl experience to every project, and her imagination is completely unconstrained. To Slappy was given the unenviable task of building s stage that would, as a minimum, equal the work Kentarr Vendetta does for Deep Sky Traveler, and, preferable add in features specific to the show we want to present. Did she succeed?

Does she ever fail?

wtf is this crap?

Crap Mariner is a robot whose internet "presence" is undeniable. Being a robot, Crap is presumably gender moot, but I have no idea. I love Crap's name, it's been rolling around my head for a few days. I love Crap's blog, which I've only just begun reading and do not yet profess to understand. I am very aware that Crap is highly regarded in certain circles, and Crap's opinions are touted across the length and breadth of the grid.

My morning lately consists of reading blogs and perusing the network sites. This morning I read that Crap Mariner "will only tip performers that are listed in Tunes inSL" and "will only tip venues that display the sign" for the same entity. Immediately, I thought I had better check out this thing called Tunes in SL, because I would hate to miss out on a life-sustaining venue tip simply by not having understood the importance of the Tunes in SL venture.

To be honest, I was expecting something worthily connected, perhaps raising awareness, or funds for some righteous cause. But no. Or not, at least, at it's inception. "I started off Tunes inSL because I had been given a bunch of iTunes gift certificates and wanted to buy music from SL performers with them." Oh, okay. So this is Crap's personal project. Right. Well ... it's a good idea. And it supports live music, which many of us enjoy and which needs support.

In case you didn't know, here's a quick rundown on how live music works in SL. This is the generalised version. We all have friends, god knows, Idle Rogue would not survive without them. And friends make special concessions to friends, that's understood. But if you are a new venue or a new artist in Secnond Life, the procedure goes something like this:

* Artists equip themselves to stream effectively into SL, with such musical instruments, hardware and software as they can afford to provide the best quality performance. They then seek venues to perform at and hopefully deliver performances that encourage a fan base. Common wisdom has it that startout artists will work for tips. Artists with a small fan base will work for 1000-1500L. Artists whose group has more than 100 members can command fees starting from 4000L.

* Venues rent or buy the land and build or buy the premises they will operate from. They undertake to meet the costs of running the venue and can do this by sourcing revenue in any of the usual ways - subletting real estate, retailing content, and tips from avatars to the venue. They also use these funds to pay the artists the fees mentioned above.

* The theory, as I have come to understand it, is that artists with a large following will bring good "traffic" to the venue. That traffic will then spend money in the various ways mentioned above. That money goes to the venue operator and is used to, at least, offset, the costs of paying for the performer.

* The problem, as I see it from a venue owner's perspective, is that staging a live performance actually brings very little return to the venue. Avatars assume that the artists are working for tips only, and naturally give their lindens to the talent. Large or popular gigs are extremely hard going for a lot of fans, and lag prevents them from camming around and purchasing something that might take their fancy. And fans, by their nature, follow the artist. They do not stay on after the gig, have a look around, purchase items or join the group with the intention of returning on a regular basis.

So when Crap Marriner announces that tips for the month of February will only go to those who support Crap's personal venture, I cringe on behalf of Idle Rogue, and on behalf of the artists who so generously share their time with us there.

Because it's not just about me and my little club, though in the past few weeks I have watched several well-known and loved venues fold. It's not even just about all clubs. Because, you see, the only artists who can be on Tunes in SL are "performers with music for sale".

So, for my fledgling artists - who are scrambling to get up to the speed of real world money earners like The Follow; who are in beg/borrow/steal mode to get good equipment in order to compete; and who haven't even begun to consider how or whether to record and distribute their music - the tips of Crap Marriner, and those who follow Crap's advice, will not be a prospect. At least for this month.

The Follow, incidentally, cost a venue 15000L for an hour's access. Please tip your venues. Take my word for it, they are hurting.

EDIT: To his credit, Crap Mariner has taken the time to respond to this post in his own blog, and I urge anyone with further interest in the matter to give him a fair hearing. I appreciate the time he took to consider and respond to my opinion.

.

it seems that once you've said a thing in blogger, you can't unsay it without deleting it. So .....

Once again I face change in my Second Life.

100124 Burly Factory on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I would like, when I remember, to post my acts from E&S Burlesque Factory's Saturday Night Revue. This show is always a spectacular, and a great deal of hard work goes into the performances.

This week I wanted to do something for Australia Day, simply because there is so much celebration of other nation's national days.

The dress is from Violator. It is the ludicrously expensive Eva And The Snake, which was a gift from a friend. It's an amazing creation, I'll grant you, and looked stunning. Based on today's earnings, I will only need to wear it fifteen more times for it to have paid for itself - but since I didn't pay for it, the point is moot. No disrespect to Soraya Vaher intended - I certainly understand her philosophical leanings, and more power to her, she's making real money from her work.

There are a few more pictures from the act at Tilly Theas' flickr page:

100124 Burly Factory on Flickr - Photo Sharing!.

While you are there, check out her stunning photos from the Deep Sky Traveler show at Idle Rogue. What an amazing night!

Tweak Tweak

I have spent this week making changes to the Idle Rogue Complex.

Before Y left SL, the parcel next to Idle Rogue became available, and it seemed a bad business decision not to take it, not least because, like all landholders, I will always need more prims. I joined the 3000 club with the idea of putting in a retail mall, with affiliate vendors to generate some income and space for group members to rezz their own vendors. The store complex didn't take off, really, partly because of the build (mine) which gave it a shrouded air, and partly because I didn't give it the attention it deserved. Beautiful Freaks was born just one epiphany later, and my emotional energy was going into acts for BF and for Ellie's Burlesque. I am extremely creative when I am miserable ... but not especially good with people.

I have always wanted Idle Rogue to be a "hub" for like-minded souls. The people who associate with Idle Rogue are all generous and spirited people. We like to socialise, we prefer chat to gestures, we love to make new residents feel a little more comfortable. There are so many "people" people around Rogue, it seems a shame that we're not there more often.

Mainstream media who have lately addressed Second Life often point out that it's hard to find anyone. To new arrivals, the grid seems a vast, though pretty, wasteland. I know when I rezzed, my ISP had a well-developed presence inworld, which made it considerably easier to find other avatars and begin the journey. The Pond Estates closed in December last year, and an amazing number of avatars attended her to her death. We are all a little less anchored without her.

For all of these reasons, and a few more, Idle Rogue has undergone a small renovation.

There are photos of the old layout here, and shots of the new Idle Rogue here.