Our Hero & The Dragon

Sometimes I feel like I want to burn the world down - at least on the inside, on the outside, I'm still the ever calm, patient and charming me.



When I logged in today I was feeling real blah and out of sorts, but then my wonderful husband Tomais asked me to model in my newly acquired dragon avatar from Prehistorica I agreed anyway.

It was a very fun photoshoot and my mood improved greatly. Thanks for that, my darling!

Sad News

Today I learned that my beloved SecondLife-brother Dejerrity Mycron has passed away.

Dej was found in his apartment in New York today by his friend Danny. It is believed that Dej died sometimes between 3-7 days ago.

The cause of his death as well as the exact time have yet to be determined. As far as I know Dej didn't have any major health issues, but my brother sometimes withheld information he thought would worry me.

The man behind the avatar that was Dejerrity was 54 years old at his passing.

To be honest, Dej was not an easy man to love and did not love easily either, but I have loved him dearly since he supported me when my former husband Ars Northmead passed away in 2010. I know for certain that he loved me also.

Remember Dej!

When Dej Disappeared (Update)

I haven't been able to see my brother Dej at all during the last week, not even his tag. I couldn't figure out what had happened or what was wrong.

Everyone else we asked saw him perfectly well, but not I. 

Dej in a screenshot when Mirco shares his screen on Skype

What I saw on my screen

With the help of Mirco and his friend Miro Collas, we finally figured out what it was and then I understood when, where and how I had messed. I feel like such a noob!

Tomais, Dej and I visited The Men's Department a week ago for some serious shopping. 

As always the place was full of eager shoppers, so I did what usually do in those laggy circumstances, with one fatal exception. I marked all the other shoppers and derendered them, but instead selecting to do so temporarily I selected permanently. 

So my poor beautiful, meshified, albeit much older brother ended up being blacklisted on my screen. It was a great relief to finally see his sweet face again.

Thanks for the help Mirco and Miro!
---
Update 8/13/2017
If you are using the Firestorm viewer my friend Anonymous has a nifty trick for you on how to derender all avatars at a busy event and then to render them again later with only two clicks.

I may have learned this once upon a time, but had since then managed to forget it. There is no better way to remember things than by repetition, especially if you are a forgetful and absentminded person like yours truly.

The Devil Made Me Do It! (Possibly NSFW)

I haven't been to a place of ill-repute in forever, but yesterday I got an invitation from my friend Nikolai Warden to visit with him at his place of work at the strip club at Spurt Beach.

If you think Nikolai is waiting tables or tending bar at the place, you would be wrong. He is the cute stripper.

Nikolai had a show going on and there was a huge crowd of two watching him. One of them was the Royal Gardener and squatter Butch Diavolo and the other was Nikolai's beau Ken. A few other guys dropped in and out of the place from time to time during my visit.

WARNING! Only click "Read more" below if you are prepared to see full frontal male avatar nudity.

Memorial For Dano

A week ago we all learned that the man behind the SecondLife avatar DanR Raymaker, in first life known as Scott Spencer, had passed away after struggling with a painful disease for a long time.

DanR Raymaker-Mirabella
(a.k.a. Scott Spencer)
★ March 19, 2007  † June 30, 2017

I knew him as Dano and first met him at Boots Gay Beach in 2007 (when he looked as his profile picture above).

Dano was one of the most charming, kindest and caring men I have ever met, with a weird sense of humor and a contagious joy of life. Being around Dano, meant you had fun, whatever mood you were in when you got there.

Even his last post on Facebook bears witness of his amazing sense of humor despite the pain and adversities he was struggling with in first life.

Dano was also one of a handful of non-Swedish avatars who dared take part in my blog-series "Naked Avatars in SL" in 2010. You can see his beautiful contribution in this post from May 21, 2010.

Yesterday I was invited to, and took part in, the memorial service for him and the celebration of his life. We were about 20-22 assembled, under the guidance of Evan Greymyst and Ezzie Mirabella. I am sure we would have been many more if people didn't have first life responsibilities to contend with during a weekday, but I am happy I could be there.

As I understand it, Dano had in length discussed with Evan Greymyst how he wished his memorial to be conducted. It was a memorable service.

Evan Greymyst conducting the memorial

Dano's husband Nibz and their two sons

Rest in peace, Dano, you will be sorely missed!

Butter Butts, Bento Balls & Mesh Heads

I would like to thank my friend and co-blogger Rusty Redfield for the tip concerning the butt enhancers for the Niramyth mesh body.

I hadn't heard about it before, but it really does have a certain something - je ne sais quoi - about it.

Marketplace: Butt add-on for the Niramyth Aesthetic Advanced body

The next thing I would like to introduce to you are the new Bento Balls - or ball sack rather - that are compatible with the Aeros cock "Magnus". They jiggle, wiggle, swing from side to side and roll-about. They are really exciting to watch, although I have decided not to get them for myself. 

A very nifty detail is that you don't have to tint the balls at all, they automatically take on the color you already have on your Magnus cock. (Doesn't work on other cocks from Aeros, not yet.)

Spooktacular - Halloween Show Tonight @ 1PM SLT

Madonna, The Virtual History Tour, is performing a Halloween Special tonight at Fruit Islands Estate.

Sasha Laryukov is Madge and will surround herself by a team of hunky and adorable - possibly even scary - manly avatars. Tonight introducing as "Dancer #14", the amazing Mr. Kahvy Smith.

Take me to the Spooktacular Madonna Show! (SLurl)

The Difference Between A Master & His Pupil

http://photomonkeysl.tumblr.com/post/151429075144/nocturne

 

It's the same wonderful chair by Apple Fall and the same man (although in another avatar-shape and unclothed), but a different venue and a different photographer.

It is easy to spot the differences between the two works, this one by Tomais is the better one in every sense of the word. If you should wish to compare with my snapshot, see my post My Man. I have much to learn, but will keep at it.

The Boys of Summer 2016

From the press-release:

"The Boys of Summer is a Depraved Nation Fair centered around men's appearance, fashion, accessories and this year we will welcome furniture/decor!

This fair will have a very basic summer theme, and of course, be centered around men. Participating brands will be given a shop space to display their store content in, all content must be related to or designed for the Male Avatar. 

Here are the event details:
¤ Event will run from July 16 – 31, 2016
¤ Participation in this event will require one NEW release that will remain EXCLUSIVE to the event until the event ends.
¤ Only men's items will be allowed to be displayed at this event. That may include skins, hair, clothing, accessories, or anything that will alter or enhance the avatar's appearance or furniture / decor."

Take this teleport: to the Boys of Summer event

The U L T R A™ Event, July 15 - August 15

"Roman Godde of The SL Registry™ in collaboration with Bad Unicorn are proud to present a brand new event called, U L T R A™ Event, that will commence on May 15 to June 15, 2016 and every other month thereafter.

A fascinating cluster of shops flanking a modern, one of a kind atrium promenade, rich with Palm Springs charm. A total of 35 elite Second Life designers will offer a truly unusual array of exclusive fashion, furnishings and all things from antique to contemporary.

From July 15 - August 15 (the) U L T R A™ Event will showcase the products and services available from the most prestigious luxury brands across the grid, which include men's and women's fashion, luxury automobiles, real estate, fine jewelry, mesh avatars, animations, skins, hair, accessories, furnishings, home and garden and much more.

For connoisseurs seeking the very best and the latest that Second life has to offer, The U L T R A™ Event is the essential one stop luxury resource."

Your luxury transportation awaits to take you to The U L T R A™ Event (SLurl).

Premium Meetup with the Lindens

I got an email from my good friends at Linden Lab today. It contained an invitation to a meetup! This event is only for premium account holders.

"Join the party! You're invited to a Tiki Beach Bash, just for Premium members! Join us inworld from 10:30-11:30 a.m. (SLT) on Thursday, June 11. You'll get early access to a free SL12B surprise avatar, too! Be sure to claim it before 11:59 p.m. on the 12th or you'll have to wait until it’s available for everyone."

Take this link to get to the location. First hit "View on map" and then "Visit this location".

There has been some speculation on the new avatar, judging by the picture in the email the speculations were correct. The new avatar is indeed a dinosaur.

I hope to see y'all there!

Hair Fair 2014

Read all about it at on the Hair Fair website.

This huge annual event is - as always - in benefit for "Wigs for Kids".

I really need a new hair, I have had the same hair cut the last three years at least. Hopefully I will find what I need here.

Bock & Facebook, Friday June 20 2014

We had an interesting day together yesterday, Facebook and I.

Early in the day, I could log in as usual and do everything one does on that site; Post stuff, like, comment, share, poke and chat with friends. In short everything was quite normal.

Later the same day, I got the following message when I tried to post a blogpost to Facebook:

You’re Temporarily Blocked From Posting

This temporary block will last 24 hours, and you won’t be able to post on Facebook until it’s finished.

Please keep in mind that people who repeatedly post things that aren't allowed on Facebook may have their accounts permanently disabled.

I was seemingly suspended for 24 hours for breach of their rule against "nudity". Read more about that in the postscript and post-postscript in this blogpost: Second Pride Festival Starts Today!.

My account was still available, but I had certain restrictions on how I could interact with the website: No posting, no liking, no commenting and no sharing, but poking and chatting was still allowed.

Even later yesterday, I got this message when I tried accessing my account on Facebook.

Now I was permanently banned and my account was disabled. So if you missed me late yesterday, you should know that I have not removed you from my friends list.
---

Considering what has been going on lately with Facebook's purge directed at SecondLife avatars, the last message did not come as a complete surprise. Ever since my previous voluntary departure from Facebook, I have had mixed feelings about my return.

It is a very convenient way to keep in touch with my Tomais and some my close friends out-of-world, but it is also extremely time consuming and hours can sometimes pass without you even noticing.

After my return I have also had a rather lax friending-policy. I accepted anyone who asked. The only exception being the jerk who was the last straw for my voluntary departure last time. Can you imagine, he actually asked to be my friend when I returned after having posted the most vile and viscous comment on the timeline of my previous account, deleting the comment (I saw it in my email, which was the reason I turned off that option on my return) and then unfriending and blocking me?

Well, I was to tired to make a decision on what to do about it yesterday, but I will discuss the matter with my sane and balanced hubby and we will see what comes out of our deliberations.

Avatar Appearance

I rezzed in SecondLife on March 11, 2007.

Noob male avatar in 2007 (not Bock)

Bock, May 2007

Bock (center), September 2007 (with cousin Drizz McMillan & my Ars before he was mine)

Bock, June 2008 (Photography by Ika Cioc)

Bock, January 2009 (Photography by Ika Cioc)

Bock, 2010 (with Ars)

Bock, 2012

Bock, 2013 (with distant cousin Butch Diavolo)

Not Just A Pretty Face

Guyke Lundquist, the Prince of Paradijs, is my son and heir, my pride and joy and my longest lasting friend in SecondLife. I love him to bits!

Guyke's Christmas Card this year (Photography by Danne Guardian)

The first thing everyone notices about my Guykechen is his stunning beauty, the second is his devastating charm and the third is his astute sense for fashion. The man shines brightly even in the presence of the many other luminaries on the SecondLife sky of male beauty.

What people don't know, and rarely take the time to notice (overwhelmed as they are with his dazzling presence), is that Guyke has the full package. Besides his good looks he also has a curious and an inquisitive mind which is stacked with knowledge about just about anything one needs to know and also an emotional depth and concern for his fellow man.

Almost every time I am with Guyke he teaches me something new. Just the other day he taught me something I had never even heard about. For instance, did you know that there is an easy way for those of us using the Firestorm viewer to reach a certain height in the skies above you? Well Guyke did and it is an easy trick which is extremely useful for me as I now have a lot of my landscaping stored at 1.000 meters above Southern Charm.

You use the Firestorm feature "Go To Height" by simply typing "gth 1000" in your nearby/local chat and hey presto you are at the designated height. Going down you just do the opposite, type "gth 25 (or whatever your level you prefer)" and down on the ground you are. Nifty, isn't it?

Another thing he taught me is that I can mix the sound levels for Skype, Firestorm and whatever so I get the combination of the levels that I prefer. You do that simply by clicking the loudspeaker symbol in the bottom right and then go to "Mixer" to choose the settings you want with the sliders. Hey presto! For some of you geeky guys this is probably really basic, but for me it's news.

Unexpected Visitors

While my brother Dej was away from his keyboard yesterday - eating, sleeping or hooking up with some able bodied man on Grindr - as usual leaving his avatar parked on his western porch, he had two unexpected visitors.

The visitors were two draft horses of tall stature, heavy boned and a muscular build, with broad, short backs and powerful hindquarters that showed they were extremely well equipped for pulling.

I am curiously  checking what Internet porn Dej's avatar is looking at

Tom, who has loads of animal avatars in his Inventory, had shown Guyke and me where to buy a puppy avatar and two horse avatars, one a draft horse and the other one an Arabian thoroughbred. As the hour was late European time Guyke left us and Tom and I returned to Southern Charm alone to unpack my loot.

I had promised Guyke that we would unpack the horse avatars together, but in my excitement I couldn't stop myself after having customised my puppy, with Tom's help, so feeling a little ashamed I went ahead with the drafter but saved the thoroughbred for unpacking together with Guyke. (I hope you can forgive me, Guykechen!)

When we were all done I wanted to show off my new avatar to Dej. We went over to the northwest corner to where Dej was sitting, but as I have already told you he was alas AFK. Instead I took a few pictures to show him later on.

Tom and I moved on to the barn to meet and greet with my bulldog Bilbo, who was quite pleased with some company as I have neglected him a bit lately. The three of us had a nice time and chatted away awhile until we all felt that we needed to get some sleep.

My Revamped Ass

My new and improved ass is larger, bubblier and more cushioned than before. Nice huh?

Photoshoot with Ricco

This evening I went along to watch as Tom had a photoshoot with Ricco Saenz for his blog Second Sighting. Ricco Saenz's journey in SL.

The shoot took place at the wild, mysterious and beautiful Dark Moon Avalon Isle sim. Tom was in his centaur avatar while handsome Ricco was a satyr. I could tell that the two knew each other well because their collaboration on the set was effortless and smooth.

In one of the pictures they took, Tom was supposed to have an arrow sticking into his bodacious rump and he was whining about it. I and Ricco ganged up on poor Tom and told him to "man up" and "take it like a man".

While the guys were posing, chatting and taking pictures I tried for the longest while to add Ricco's blog to my SecondLife blogroll, but it just would not stick whatever I tried. So I blamed it on "that darned technology" and decided try doing it after I had logged off.

When I tried it again it still did not let itself be added but I was reminded by a similar experience a while back so I checked my blogroll. Sure enough, the reason I could not add it was that it had already been added a long time ago duhhhhh. 

Another Pet Peeve: Tinting Skin

Let me start this post by posting a (somewhat shortened) conversation I had with my dear friend Starlight Gentil today. The conversation reminded me of how long I have had this pet peeve.

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: Hey Bock ! thank you for the invite ....  I'll be there ! yay !! hugs Star

Bock McMillan: YAY! You're so welcome sweetie, so happy we will see each other  again!

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: :)))

Bock McMillan: Now begone please, I have to fit a bulge on my swimsuit and get the skin color  on the penis bit right... LOL

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: OMG !! haha ...I'm picturing that !!

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: Enjoy!!

Bock McMillan: ROFL - I cannot understand why the stores don't hand out cards with the RGB of the skins: Would that be so damned difficult?

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: Haha... you do make me smile :)))

Bock McMillan: It's pet peeve of mine, drat the merchants

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: Can you imagine telling peeps at work on Monday what you did on Sunday >?

Bock McMillan: LOL nooooooooooooo

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: Exactlyyyy .haha. But these are such important issues here

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: OK I'll be gone and let you start tinting ^^

Bock McMillan: It's a crazy world we are living in sweetie, can you believe we are here by choice?

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: We're all weirdos .. who cares ..just enjoy

Bock McMillan: Haha will do! See you soon! Ohhh by the way this conversation is going on the blog....

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: Oops ! ;D

Bock McMillan: ROFL

s ţ α rℓ ίg ђ ţ: grinz

No, it's not my own "attachment"

Ever since I rezzed in SecondLife some 6 + years ago I have had a problem with tinting the skin of penises, or rather six days after I rezzed. Before that I was hanging around at the arrival place trying to get myself to look half-decent.

Can you imagine what the first thing I looked for in Inventory was once I had seen myself naked? Yup, you got it - a penis. I couldn't for the life of me understand the cruelty of people letting a male avatar rez without having a penis handy, not even a flaccid one. "Damn holier-than-thou Yanks" I thought and then calmed myself with the thought that surely there must be a solution to this major malfunction.

Well, within an hour of venturing out of the arrival place, I had been handed three atrocious penises by male avatars who wanted me to service them. The penises were absolutely ugly, both in shape and especially coloring.  Is there really anything uglier in the whole world than a mismatched penile-attachment?

This problem has remained all through my SecondLife. While Ars lived he would help me with tinting, but since he passed away I am on my own with this and not doing great I am not afraid to tell you.

One of the earliest skins I bought in SecondLife was the Dante skin, I think it was sold by something called Naughty Designs. That skin came with a flaccid penis matched to the skin tone, but other than that I have only encountered  one more merchant that supplied skins with penises and that is The Fallen Gods, who supply penile-attachments free of charge in the correct tints.

The skin tinting problem used to be only a problem for male avatars, women did not have similar appendages - as we all knew long before we took Biology 101. That was true until mesh came along, with mesh feet and shoes that need to be matched with the skin the problem is now one that both genders struggle with.

Skin-merchants, when will you take responsibility and realize that it is a serious problem for residents because it is so difficult to properly match the skin of the body with the skin of the penis and other attachments? Why the hell can't you supply us with a card telling us the RGB of the skin  or a texture so that we can tint our penises and other attachments with some ease?

There's No Accounting For Bad Taste

Boobs the sizes of two small European countries and asses the size of a medium sized country in Africa.

I had to teleport home because I felt getting sick to my stomach. when I encountered these avatars in a store that shall not be mentioned Butch just laughed cruelly at me!

I am reminded of the time when I saw the Italian director Federico Fellini's film "Amarcord " at a cinema and threw up during the scene where this older woman juggled with her humongous boobs at a little boy (Or is it a young man, I cannot remember I have blocked it out?).