I’m throwing caution
What’s it gonna be?
Tonight the winds of change are coming over me
If I don’t get out
Out of this town
I just might be the one
Who finally burns it down
The Killers, ♫Caution♫
Pose Fair begins in just over a day and I’m looking really forward to getting into a lot of the great items that this round has to offer. Not only am I featuring the “Breathing Pack Orion” by Beras from the event that begins on the 7th, but I’m also wearing the brand new “Alessio Suit Blazer” by Cold-Ash which has just dropped at the Anthem event that began just a few short days ago. If you already have the trousers of the same name then all you have to do is pick up either the open shirt style or the button up with tie style. If you feel ambitious then go with both because both of them are really sick. I felt like using the open version would go along with what’s going on in the background. Turning up the heat if you will.
Lock&Tuft also shows up in this entry with the new “CHAMPION” hair which can be found right now at The Warehouse event. For anyone that ever wanted a mullet style on the grid now you can get it. Business in the front and party in the back as they say! The style I pulled off for this pic was immensely satisfying. Keep an eye out for more featured items from the September round of Pose Fair.
In a world full of hate, be a light
When you do somebody wrong, make it right
Don’t hide in the dark, you were born to shine
In a world full of hate, be a light
Thomas Rhett, ♫Be A Light♫
The past 6 months have been pretty crazy to say the least. The world has been going through a lot and I’m fairly certain that no one needs a recap. I haven’t been as creative as I once was and that’s just kind of the road that I’m on right now when it comes to blogging and creating art in Second Life. Now and again I’ll hear a song that I want to share and create a picture with and this post is a great example of that. Thomas Rhett’s “Be A Light” is a prime example of something good in this world that we all need right now. As always I embed the video for the songs I choose in my posts so if you’d kindly check it out when you get to that part of the blog or even skip to it right way, that would be something I sincerely appreciate.
The way I lay out my blogs now is a lot different then how I used to do them. I think for time and just wanting to get things out quicker that the way I have been doing them suits me just fine. I am still happy to be a part of some great blogger teams and I try to do them proud as I work to get back to a better routine where my head sparks more creativity. They’ve been awesome to me and I thank them for that more than words can even express.
One of the latest releases from lock&tuft is the “Rhett” hair and the name alone is what inspired me to use the song that I chose as the theme for this blog entry. Not just because it is a good song (which it is in my estimation). The hair has 32 colors to choose from and also includes a Bakes On Mesh hairbase to go along with it. It has been created with LeLUTKA Evo head owners in mind but I managed to make it work with the CATWA Stanley head so it should work with most heads with some slight adjustments.
Session Skins latest male release “Cooper” is in their brand new store for all of you guys to try. Intended for use with the CATWA Stanley head (may work well with other CATWA heads but that would be require some experimentation). The package comes with appliers for the skin as well as Bakes On Mesh head layers in several options. The options are Brow, Hair, Hair No Brow and No Brow. I’m wearing Tone 02 but it is also available in Tone 03 as well if you prefer a little darker (tanned) skin.
In a race that you can’t win, slow it down
Yeah, you only get one go around
‘Cause the finish line is six feet in the ground
In a race you can’t win, just slow it down
Don’t play with me
I’m not your toy
Oh can’t you see
I am not your Gameboy
Freezepop, ♫I’m Not Your Gameboy♫
One of the things I’ve been passionate about for as long as I can remember is video games. In a recent discussion, I had with a friend I rattled off just about every gaming system I’ve owned since I was small. That all started with the Atari and even though games back then were nothing like they are now, they still offered hours of enjoyment to not only myself but to my family members.
As time went on things improved from the graphics and sound but to the way they were played. Until the late 80’s everything had to be played connected to a television and while that is still very much the case now, gamers would get a taste of something different: Handheld Gaming Systems. The Gameboy was like one of the single greatest things of its time when it was released and as one of those kids that owned one. I was in cloud nine.
One of my favorite games that I enjoyed playing more than anything was Tetris, which as far as puzzle games go, is still one of my all-time favorites. This was before Jewel Quest and Candy Crush which for anyone that is a fan of those games should find some version of Tetris and give it a try. I would stay up trying to beat whatever high score that was previously made the time before and on school nights I would have to be sneaky with a flashlight. Maybe that is where I started to become a night owl?
Lock&Tuft has released a virtual version of the original Gameboy and have called it, POCKETGIRL. It comes with a small handful of poses and a HUD with a dozen or so colors that allow you to personalize it in a way that best fits you. I chose the OG style because that’s what I most relate to and am fond of.
This release can be found at their in-world store so for game buffs or just someone that is into nostalgia or pop culture. I encourage you to go and take a look because it can make picture-taking become a lot more fun.
I don’t have Spy Hunter
Galaga or Burger Time
Don’t look here for Frogger
Dig-dug ain’t no friend of mine
Don’t ask me, you’ll cross the line
Maybe
A 100 bad days made
A 100 good stories
A 100 good stories make me
Interesting at parties
AJR, ♫100 Bad Days♫
Even after Pose Fair and Skin Fair end (there are only a few days left for each through the end of today) I will still have a lot of material to work with for posts in the foreseeable future. There’s just so much to dive into that it can easily make your head spin. Looking from the viewpoint of a consumer going to these two particular events (or any events really) it makes me think of the gif (or meme) where Fry has a handful of cash and the caption says “Shut up and take my money!” That’s what comes to mind because there are so many wonderful things to explore not just for the bloggers or Second Life photographers but also just every day things (such as building a new look for your avatar).
Boo’d Up has several different pose offerings for Pose Fair but I took a liking to the Aesthete pose pack. It contains five different bento static poses (which this cross-legged one is by far my favorite). Inside the pack there is also single poseballs for each pose if you choose not to use it in your own stand or you have rezz rights to the location you are taking photos at.
I’ve been wearing a lot of short hair styles in pictures lately so I thought it might be time to switch it up. Lock&Tuft released the “Ackerman” hair a while back but I finally found a way to put it to use in a look. This style also comes with a hat (the name of the type escapes me as I’m writing this) which you can wear as part of the hair or solo without the hair if desired. There is a HUD to accompany the hat with 6 different texture styles and the HUD for the hair itself boasts 66 different colors (from solids to hombres).
For my skin I am wearing the Richard skin from Lure. It’s made for CATWA brand heads and is suggested to be worn with Victor for the best look. Bakes On Mesh layers as well as an applier HUD are the ways you can wear this but keep in mind that the body appliers/BOM layers are sold separately. When I first put this on I felt like the face reminded me of someone. Perhaps a video game character at first but then I started to think about it more and thought it reminded me more of the vocalist from Shinedown, Brent Smith. The face has very distinguishing features and has a more mature look which those who are fans of this type will really clamor for it.
It also felt appropriate that I used the Vice X #Adored Sleep Depo Shadows. They give a great example of a tired look which seems fitting for the look of the skin that I have on too. This set of 9 color variants (in two styles) are Bakes On Mesh layers only and optimized for CATWA branded heads. It’s possible that they may work with other BOM capable heads but I haven’t tried them so it would be something to try at your own risk.
When all is going wrong
And you’re scared as hell
Watcha gonna do
Who you gonna tell
I’ve been looking so long at these pictures of you
That I almost believe that they’re real
I’ve been living so long with my pictures of you
That I almost believe that the pictures are
All I can feel
Pictures Of You, ♫The Cure♫
Time can easily get away from you. It is one of the easiest ways I can explain for my absence over the past few weeks along with the fact that I’m still not all that inspired like I once was; I still love taking photos but sometimes I just have to really feel motivated to and that’s been my issue over many months. Of course there’s personal reasons for that and those closest to me understand that. I would love to come back stronger but I guess it is just not there yet or I’m not ready.
This is meant to be a quick update because I really wanted to take a photo with the latest release from Lock&Tuft. It’s a cool camera that’s reminiscent of the old Polaroid cameras and the retro ones they came out with a few years ago. It’s got three different pose positions (high, low and side) and comes complete with a texture changing HUD with three colors (green, pink and white). For the photo I took, I thought I would focus the most on the camera because I tend to find myself taking photos and piling different clothes together trying to get credits in and it becomes distracting and never turns out right. Personally I think this turned out great and for something simple it works as I intended.
Maitreya has also released a new update that includes compatibility with BOM (Bakes On Mesh). There are a lot of little additions like a few extra feet positions and that of different nipple functions which I didn’t feel the need to mess around with. The underwear that comes with the body has also been revised by Erratic and is very detailed.
You can grab the 5.0 update at the store of if you are a part of their free group (Maitreya V.I.P.) you can get a HUD that will auto deliver the new version too you. Part of the features added is being able to get future updates or if you just need a redelivery, you can get it right from the Body HUD itself. Tableau Vivant has also included their entire skin tone range as well for those who are avid wearers of their skins that’s certainly a great feature too.
As much as I didn’t think I would like Bakes On Mesh, my mind is slowly starting to change but there is still a way to go before I am all the way invested in it. I’m still pretty firm on my liking of appliers.
When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.
Ansel Adams
Snow’s coming down
Watching it fall
Watching the people around
Baby, please come home
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), ♫Dustin Kensrue♫
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve so I thought I’d do a little blog post because I’ll be spending time with family and not sure exactly how much time I’ll have online or want to spend online. Eventually I’ll run out of songs to use each year because I’m pretty picky but until then I’m going to use ones that I really like, as is this version of this song as performed by Dustin Kensrue (of the band Thrice). The holiday this year is definitely a lot different for me then in years past but I can also hope for next year to be better than this one.
I finally managed to get a good shot of the “Bad Santa” hat by lock&tuft just in time for the holiday. It should be in the store now as Tannenbaum ended a few days ago but I can take a big breath to know that I finally ended up with something that I’m satisfied with as far as angles go. There’s a lot of features of the hat/hair combo that would have taken a lot of pics personally as a rule I haven’t been doing more than one pic per post unless it is largely story based. In the box it comes with two HUDs that are for the hat and then for the hair respectively. The hat itself has 3 different parts that can be changed (the fur at the base and ball, the main part of the hat and then for the patch that has some rather funny sayings such as “Merry Christmas ya filthy animal” ala Home Alone 2). The HUD to color the hair speaks for itself and also has a built in hairbase applier for Catwa, LeLutka and Omega (depending on your preference).
This post isn’t meant to be word heavy as they can sometimes get so I’m going to end it by wishing everyone out their a very happy holiday and a Merry Christmas (or for those who have other festivities to enjoy those as well as in the end it’s all relative). To my fellow bloggers/photographers I wish you all the creativity and good tidings in the world as all of us have our own unique way of telling stories through the photos we blog (or post). To those close to me (you all know who you are), you are the gifts that give continually throughout the year and whether we speak every day or even just now and then on account of busy schedules there is a place in my heart where you reside.
Now that all the sentiments have been spoken, who has the egg nog?
Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most
Ruth Carter Stapleton
You know the stars are shining just for you
Let’s take a walk and we can follow the moon
Until we reach the place we could stay
Maybe kiss a bit and dream away
Kissing Under The Mistletoe, ♫Loving Caliber (feat. Emmi)♫
After a small break with that last entry, I’m back at it again with more goodness from the Pose Fair; I couldn’t begin to tell you how much I enjoy doing photos with Brenna. This time we’ve come together to show everyone the “Kiss Me” pose from Space Cadet. It works well because we are both fans of this brand and when I see them at an event like Pose Fair I gravitate towards it and I make sure that I put together a scene as quick as possible. This sweet pose is included with the mistletoe prop so that anyone can get in on the fun.
It also seems that Brenna also has most of the new items in her look then I do but of course I’ve previously blogged the skin I’m wearing as well as the hat/hair (that I’ve not found a good angle to capture yet still but bare with me, I’m trying!) She’s wearing hair and a skin from the Doux/L’etre gacha from The Arcade (and was also kind enough to hook me up with some spares for one of my previous entries). There’s also the “Dove Sweater” by Miss Chelsea that has two exclusive designs at the Anthem event for just $99L through the course of the event so ladies if you haven’t taken a look at that it’s worth doing.
Admittedly this probably wasn’t the greatest scene setup that I’ve ever used in one of my photos but I wanted to focus on the pose and the closeness of Brenna and I. This time of year is not that easy for me and probably even more so now without getting into detail but the best way to put it is that being with those you care about helps with some of that and I’m all for those moments…and besides I don’t think we’ve ever done a photo before where we’re kissing with mistletoe.
I wouldn’t be opposed to more of them in the future.
Mistletoe. I surmount all obstacles.
Vanessa Diffenbaugh, The Language of Flowers
‘Cause my monsters are real, and they’re trained how to kill
And there’s no coming back and they just laugh at how I feel
And these monsters can fly, and they’ll never say die
And there’s no going back, if I get trapped I’ll never heal
Yeah, my monsters are real
Shinedown, ♫Monsters♫
Thought I would just take a one small break between posting wintery posts for Pose Fair and sneak in a little something different. I felt like it would be a good time to do what likely a lot of people are doing and posting Negan pics because of the Stray Dog “Jeffery” skin that was released at TMD this month. It’s a fantastic likeness of the man who first came into our homes as the Patriarch of the Winchester boys of Supernatural. After many different films and being cast as the psychotic sociopath that wields a bat on The Walking Dead, the virtual world is getting a facsimile that is pretty darn close to the real thing.
Jeffrey has several options built into it’s HUD including a clean shaven face as well as his post apocalyptic beard. There are also two different styles of eyebrow types built into the applier along with a no brows version as well. A lot of skins by Stray Dog that have been released pay tribute to great actors and each one has definitely been a hit (I can’t see how they couldn’t be!)
I definitely chose the right styling for this blog post as a while back Cold-Ash released a version of Negan’s jacket so pairing that with my new favorite pair of jeans by Lapointe & Bastchild’s Swear imprint has brought the charming yet evil as sin character to life virtually as I took to the Bartertown sim. Also I went back and dabbled with the Black Dragon viewer after updating it to the latest version (and also putting in the settings I had that were wiped out). I think that it’s going to take me a lot of messing with this before I end up using it for photography permanently instead of Firestorm.
I’m also wearing the “Bad Santa” hat/hair combination from Lock&Tuft (available now at Tannenbaum) but I plan to do more posts with it so that I get a better angle of it but it’s definitely tougher to do as I’ve done a couple of photos with it including this one and I haven’t captured it well in any angle that I’ve tried but I’m going to keep trying until I’ve got it 100%. Certain hair styles make it harder to capture well, especially with the addition of the Santa Hat because of it’s curvature.
Be careful in the company of monsters that you don’t become one.
Cindy Gerard, Take No Prisoners
Second guessing, I’m so stressed
Success is an empty lie
So what’s the point if that’s our purpose
On Earth by design?
Over My Head, ♫Judah & The Lion♫
This post in a way is redundant in the fact that I’m doing a fall scene yet where I’m from we maybe had like a weeks worth if that of actual fall. It’s just before Thanksgiving and it’s more winter than anything but that is the unpredictability of it. Anyway, I found some inspiration venturing around sims that are found on the Blogger and Vlogger Network’s list of rezzable sims. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a fall background and in the same vein I was also not looking for a winter one but would have made it work if I’d found one. I really liked the colors that Pegasoi had as I roamed around and stumbled upon a bench with a very nice looking home as a nice backdrop (even though it’s not a backdrop in the SL sense of the matter).
One of the hairs that lock&tuft released while I was on my sabbatical/hiatus (not sure what I really want to call it at this juncture) is called “Groom”. I’m not sure if that’s a reference to say a wedding groom or just that it’s a well groomed style. My mind sometimes tends to try and make rhyme or reason for things even if there may not be any intended meaning behind something. I really like that it comes with both a normal style and a messy one so that conceivably I could wear the normal version at the beginning of the day and by the end have on the messy one before I log out to show that I’ve potentially been up to no good, right?
Somewhere in between the time of me being away from the blogging world and now, Tori Torricelli offered to their VIP group members the “Cormac Scarf & Sweater” for free as well as one to gift a family member or friend. I thought this was one of the coolest things for a store to do and I had grabbed mine (it was at TMD when the offer was available) and have been sitting on it for a bit of time until I thought that it would work for this particular blog photo session. It’s perfect for a fall day jaunt without feeling like your virtual self would come down with some kind of illness (yes I’m aware it’s not possible but work with me here). The scarf and sweater both have HUDs (this is for the Fatpack version) with many different styles to choose from and I went through several before I decided on what you see in the photo. This is by no means my usual pallet but I wanted to try something different and that worked with the colors that were around me.
I am quite happy with the results and maybe this is a good sign of things to come.
Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.
Stanley Horowitz
If you can hold the stars in place
You can hold my heart the same
Whenever I fall away
Whenever I start to break
So here I am, lifting up my heart
To the one who holds the stars
Skillet, ♫Stars (Film Version)♫
For the first time in the history of this blog I won’t be making one of my traditional Halloween posts, my last entry is probably to be considered my attempt at doing something for my favorite holiday. The past few months have brought about some struggles and challenges for me emotionally but the best thing for me is to figure out how to handle them my way and as much as I thought blogging would be one of them it just hasn’t been. In the time I’ve been mostly absent from creating posts and things I’ve just been trying to figure out what makes me happy and when I log in to take a photo and turn it into the blog I don’t consider it a chore like it was starting to become. I will probably slowly integrate being more regular but it’s potentially not going to happen til the first of the year (or so I hope). Bare with me those friends of this blog and of mine personally, your support has always helped carry me where I needed to be when I’ve needed it.
A lot of my past October posts were usually dark because it’s a spooky month and I revel in it but for this I just wanted to do something a bit more uplifting. I picked a song that has a good meaning behind it and can be viewed in many different ways and I found a backdrop that worked out perfectly to support my idea. Paparazzi’s “Starlit Staircase” is a beautiful backdrop that has a great ambience about it and was able to come across better than doing an outside night shot which often don’t turn out well for me.
My hair comes from the current round of Man Cave and is by lock&tuft. “Christopher” is a messy mid-length style that comes in many great tones which I chose a brown tone because my usual black would not have shown up well in the shadows of the dark staircase. It comes complete with hairbase for Catwa, Genus and LeLutka depending on what your preference in head choice is, you can tint it to match the color of your hair quite simply.
Session Skins is one of my favorite stores for skins and I’m happy to be wearing “Dante” for this post. This is the first time that I’ve worn one of their skins with Tone 03 in it and it is slightly more tanned then Tone 02 is but it’s still awesome. This one also caters to the more mature male avatar needs as it comes complete with eye wrinkles and forehead wrinkles then previous releases which is also very appealing because not everyone wants have their appearance be young (and that’s a plus because it shows depth).
Of course I also found myself wearing the flannel version of Deadwool’s “Hart Jacket” because Houndstooth. I felt like I needed that because it’s very much me and I’ve pretty much always styled myself the way I wanted to but when I start to get back on the horse it is going to be even more so how I operate. Focusing on trying to be more of a quality over quantity blogger and not completely burning myself out is what I’m working my way back to and I think I’ll get there even if it takes some time.
The last most important thing I want to impart is that you should take the time out of your day to tell someone what they mean to you even if it is just to say “you’re a cool person and glad to have you around” or “you make my life better just because you listen without question”. These are just the kind of things that may not seem like much but make a world full of difference. Give it a try and see how you feel afterwards and best of all it costs nothing.
We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins, carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains. 93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames, we are all just stars that have people names.
Nikita Gill
These Conversations Kill 