Tuesday, December 04, 2007

edit: I have removed the two previous posts to this blog. Nothing in Second Life seems very important now.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Edit: Someone said that "life is about change". I think life is about friends and family. Hold your friends and family. Be good to each other.

Friday, November 02, 2007


Wow, it is hard to imagine but I started Second Life two years ago on Nov. 1, 2005. SL was rather quiet for me yesterday. I enjoyed being able to visit with Avi Arrow in Zoe. I did hear from a number of good friends. Patch & Nevada also started SL on 11/1/05. It was good talking with them. :)

Good ol' Zoar entered the ELITE haunted house photo contest and received word late last night that she has won 3rd place. (Yaay!) The only rule was that the photo had to have been taken at the house. I had learned from Osprey to mess with some of the client controls in order to get some weird effects for photos. I figured the haunted house would be perfect for trying this.

Friday, September 07, 2007

Today is the 675th day I have been a resident of Second Life. I think there have only been two or three days that I haven't been in-world. I have been asking myself for the past several months what it is that brings me back to this place. I came to Second Life with no idea what to expect. I immediately felt out of place. This is a feeling that has not left me. Early on I was curious about what people had done here and I explored the mainland. Later, I was lucky enough to get my own house. I still have that house. It will remain as my home in Second Life for as long as I stay here.

Once that I had some roots, I began to meet other people. The idea of being part of a community rather than just being a roaming nomad excited me. I have made a few friends who have been very kind to me. I have seen people come and I have seen people go. Many of those who are gone left crushed and broken hearted. I have seen people leave and be completely forgotten immediately by others. It makes one feel very insignificant. I realize that what I had seen as community is largely illusionary. I have enjoyed Second Life. It has made me laugh. It has also made me feel very sad and isolated. The loneliness here can often be overwhelming.

Six weeks ago, I saw China Tracy's Second Life "iMirror" video. It is a 30 minute film that was shown at this year's Venice Biennale. China Tracy is a Chinese artist named Cao Fei.
"Cao Fei, born in Guangdong, China in 1978. She has been working with video, photography, performance, experimental theatre, documentary and fictional films, writing and other media. She vividly express the intense experiences of a young generation of Chinese urban youth navigating the wave of modernisation, urbanisation and globalisation. With an incredibly fresh but vigilant sense of humour, she examines and makes visible the very realities and dreams of this generation in various contexts from work to play, from suffering to happiness."
http://www.caofei.com/

I like the text she has at the end of part three of iMirror:

"I always imagine human beings behind hollow digits, all those lonely souls. We are not what we originally are, and yet we remain unchanged. Hopefully there's new possibility of combination in our electronic second life, a new force which transcend this mortal coil. On the reality's end of this combined ultra-space there are still love for simplicity and the pursuit of freedom. We are thrown into this world hollow. Every world is an abyss. God loves people, but we are also each other's salvation. To go virtual is the only way to forget about the real darkness."

Here is part three of China Tracy's iMirror:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zB-ILJlnWEE

This is the best of the Second Life videos that I have seen. It is meaningful to me because I do feel thrown into an abyss in Second Life. I believe that many people feel that way. In spite of my experiences of two years in Second Life, I suppose it is the continued hope of community that has kept me here.

Monday, September 03, 2007

Hey! I've updated this blog, lol.

I teleported into a sim for shopping Sunday evening. I wish I had taken a picture. About 10 people run up to me. Pretty silly, but it was fun.

[21:59] Riki Yifu: HI MOLLY RINGWALD!
[21:59] Teshi Mikazuki: wait whats goign on
[21:59] Teshi Mikazuki: o.o
[21:59] Riki Yifu: I WATCHED ALL YOUR MOVIES!
[21:59] Teshi Mikazuki: MOLLY WINWALD OMFG!!
[21:59] Riki Yifu: Youa re SO famous!
[21:59] You: omg, they've recognized me
[21:59] Riki Yifu: MOLY!
[21:59] Meesha Yoshikawa: lol
[21:59] Micah Kuhn: O_O
[21:59] Riki Yifu: AUTOGRAPH!!
[21:59] Meesha Yoshikawa: Konnichiwa
[21:59] You: eep
[21:59] Teshi Mikazuki: LETS GET HER!!
[21:59] Meesha Yoshikawa: Poor molly
[21:59] Lana Miranda: whaaa!?
[21:59] You: this always happens
[21:59] Teshi Mikazuki: autographnaokthx!
[22:00] Jorgen Friis: i'm confused
[22:00] Note Buaku: What is even going on
[22:00] Teshi Mikazuki: Molly is famouse!!
[22:00] Kurogane Graves: lol
[22:00] Riki Yifu gave you HeartPikopikoHammer.
[22:00] Teshi Mikazuki: stop beating up the celebrity hasbeen riki D:<
[22:01] Lana Miranda: what am i missing? lol
[22:01] Eon Mauriac: no clue
[22:01] Meesha Yoshikawa: No autographs today sorry
[22:01] Teshi Mikazuki: Meesha?o.o
[22:01] You: sorry
[22:02] Lana Miranda: ok! time to find fashion and fun, lol
[22:03] Riki spanked Molly's ass!
[22:03] You: brb, gotta save this chat, lol

Friday, February 16, 2007

The personal computer has made powerful creative tools available to millions of people. One does not need to come into a social, virtual world to be able to create for oneself. The appeal of SL for many people is the ability to see what other people are doing and to be able to share one's own creations with others. As a parent, I find that nurturing and encouraging someone's interests comes more naturally for me than excluding or saying no. I believe that "supporting the arts in SL" should be about promoting peoples' participation.
I was very excited last summer to have had something that I had submitted to be accepted for the ISEA New West show and it was very cool to see pictures of the t-shirt that I had made and given out for the show showing up in other peoples' photo blogs. :)
http://www.ludica.org.uk/NewWest/
But I was even more excited to have discovered in December the Photography Studio in Grignano. All SL residents are invited to submit photos for monthly themed competitions. I was very happy to have had photos accepted for December's exhibition and very surprised that one was picked as the month's first prize winner. I am very glad to have had another picture that I submitted be accepted for the January show. Being able to participate is more important than winning. These shows have been a lot of fun for me. I look foward to the next one. I think it is wonderful that Osprey Therian and the other fine folks in Grignano are sponsoring these shows.