SP Hugs 11 - 21

Jak Calcut, the best hugger in SL

Vampi Twine

Sylvana "Syllie" Whitfield

The One & Only Tomais

Kharissa Indigo, not the best hug but the lag was fierce

Pienikins hugs my leg while Petr supervises

Mitchell, a very cute and nice French guy

Ziggy Starsmith, a prince among men

LLedge Eames

Levi Ewing, not of the Texas Ewings

JJ's Birthday Bash

Today is the first life birthday of one of the sweetest, most charming and kindest men in SecondLife, the talented photographer JJ Goodman. He turns thirty-something (...or is it really 41?).

Yesterday Fordis Flores and some other of JJ's closest friends had arranged a surprise party to celebrate him. Amazingly enough it actually seems that it was a complete surprise to him, none of all those invited had spilled the beans.

Samm Quendra entertained us with songs and sweet talk

WayneNZ and Holter

JJ and Hottie B Lockjaw

Ohiomike Lockjaw

Kahvy Sands and his beau Garrett Smith

Coop Router

Guyke, Tomais, Kahvy, me, Garrett, Kharissa Indigo and Larz Kas

JJ, Fordis and Slam Ballinger, Fordis bf

Gerard Renoir, Talu and Stephano del Piero

Samael & Cinta

Inventory Cleanup from Second Pride 2014

So Ebbe Linden (a.k.a. Ebbe Altberg, CEO of Linden Lab, The Makers of SecondLife) did not deign to respond to my tweets asking him to take some time to honor the largest LGBT event on the grid with a visit, nor did he pay us a visit (as far as I know).

For next years Pride I may choose to send him the invitation through bloggers and SLebrities Jo Yardley or Strawberry Singh, whose tweets he does seem to respond to.

However, as you see below we did get attention from at least two other first life celebrities from stage and screen, Conchita Wurst and Peggy Bundy!

Conchita Wurst (PuPi)

Peggy Bundy (B.J. Floyd)

On the last afternoon of Second Pride we also got to crown a King and Queen of Second Pride 2014 in a pageant arranged by Frolic Mills. I completely agree with the judges choices. The judges were, by the way, my hug-buddy Takuya Jinn - CEO/Chief Designer Gabriel, my dear old friend and hug-buddy Kharissa Indigo - Board Member of Second Pride, the lover of my Jesters Hat and therefore close to my heart Hobbit Zenfold - MR. V♛ GERMANY 2014 and Frolic Mills - CEO Partyculars and founder/former CEO of BOSL and Miss Virtual World.

The winners if the pageant were Queen Locuala Madrugi and King jOrGe (a.k.a. Manito12). Below presented in their first and second outfits of the evening.

Although Frolic repeatedly made excuses for there only being three candidates in each category, I must honestly say I think it was quite enough. Two hours are a suitable time frame for these events, we lead busy lives with two of them to juggle.

In closing I would like to share this Bitstrip my other half posted on Facebook today.

Bitstrip comic on Facebook by Tomais Ashdene

We had a wonderful Pride celebration in SecondLife this year.

My sincerest gratitude to all of the board members, 

this was the best Second Pride evvvahhhhhhhh!

In my opinion Second Pride 2014 had a King and a Queen that did not take part in the pageant. The two are King Petr, "The reluctant chairman", and Queen Khar, "The old trusted hand who stepped in and saved the day". 

In gratitude for their services and together with the rest of the board I hereby declare them to be honorary citizens of Southern Charm, with those citizenship's granted to them they are of course all now also royalty with princely titles. 

Second Pride Hugs, Days 4-5

Truth be told, all in this post were hugged on day 5. On day 4 I only hugged hubby.

Kharissa Indigo

Parvin (a.k.a. Xcept Atlas)

Bailey Saxmundham

Kane Hawksby

DJ's Needed For AM Slots At Second Pride

Any open slots may now be filled on a first come first serve basis, please send requests to Kharissa Indigo in-world

Other information that may be of interest to presumptive DJ's:
DJ Information Update
DJ & Entertainer Information
The Festival Schedule (Find your open slot here)

I & My Identical Twin

Sometimes we need to be in two places at the same time, but as we know that isn't possible in our first life. However in SecondLife it is. On Friday evening I realized I had promised to be at two separate places at 12 PM (noon) on Saturday.

First I had promised Tomais that I would be at the Wastelands sim for a photo shoot with him, Lee McKay and Ryder Yowman for the "And equality under the law for all" picture. So I needed to have my body there. The second place I needed to be was the Second Pride board meeting taking place at the exact same time. So I needed to have my mind there.

The problem is impossible to solve in first life, but a no-brainer in SecondLife. I logged in the lairds Secretary of State, my oldest and wisest alt Wild Zepp-McMillan to take care of my presence at the Second Pride meeting, while my body rested safely at the Wasteland sim under the protection of my lover.

Wild hasn't been online much and far less outside of the home sim since he was created, so first thing he needed was new clothes. (He only had system clothing and any McMillan would rather be seen naked.) He was sent off to a trip to The Men's Department with an allowance of L$2 000. After only spending about L$500 he was good to go and a pride to see.

I can understand if you have difficulty telling us apart, but left to right it is
Bock McMillan and Wild Zepp-McMillan

The experiment was a complete success, I am happy to say, and I was able to perform my obligations in both places, thanks to Wild and being in constant communications with Tomais on Skype.

The photo shoot turned out wonderfully and I am extremely proud to have been a part of it.

"And equality under the law for all" Photography by Tomais Ashdene
with (left to right) me, Ryder. Lee and Tomais

You can see more of Tomais photography on his his Flickr photostream here or his Tumblr PhotoMonkey SL (NSFW). However, all four of us were ejected from Wastelands and sent back to our respective homes when we tried to pull off the naked version of the picture.

The Second Pride meeting went well too, for the minutes please visit SP Board Meeting Minutes 4-19-14 and for the transcript please visit Transcript of SP meeting on 4-19-14.

As could be expected, the present Marketing Director World Undercroft and Event Director Merrick Genesis, were relieved of their duties for failure to attend three consecutive meetings in a row without permission from the Chair.

The meeting was informed that the key responsibilities of the Marketing Director would be performed jointly by Karl Kalchek and Baz Ceawlin. As the position of Events Director is crucial for the upcoming Festival, even I could see that the position would have to be filled with someone who had the skills for the office. I was therefore not at all surprised when level headed Marge Beaumont made a motion that the position, in accordance with the bylaws, should be filled immediately by Kharissa Indigo (a.k.a. the Relentless Khar).

Although I myself love Khar and could see that she had the required skills I was worried by this nomination both for Khar's own sake and for the sake of Second Pride as she has been a target of "some contention" (to put it mildly) within the community, so I gave voice to my concerns at the meeting.

After being assured by several members of the board that they would not allow Khar to stand alone as a target and that they had discussed policies to handle such a situation I was satisfied. The board then appointed Khar to the position of Events Director.

We were then introduced to The Sponsor and Vendor packages for the Festival, and the registration form for those who had purchased those packages.

Next meeting will be Sunday, May 4 at 12 PM (noon) SLT.

---
P.S. I would like to clarify that Merrick Genesis absence is due to first life health issues, not through any desire to neglect his duties.

Life Is A Cabaret @ Spinners

Yesterday I gave ya'll the prologue, well parts of it, because I said nothing about the many, many hours I spent shaving my face and every nook and cranny of my body. In some hard-to-reach places I even had to beg for assistance by an unnamed hair-remover. But let's forget about those traumatic moments now, suffice it to say that it takes some pain to be pretty.

Guykita, Butchette and the radiant Bocquerelle arrived to the venue on the specified time only to find that we were the only three in full drag, well except for Andy Long and his beautiful husbands, Story and Sutry. Not only that but - to add disaster to discomfort - it turned out there was an alpha layer on the ballroom floor that made Butchette's and my amazing gowns from Paris Metro disappear. "Alpha on alpha, just doesn't work, as every noob knows!", said Butchette (or something to that effect) as we moved on to the stage (which was non-alpha).

Guykita, Butchette & Bocquerelle
Photo by Butch Diavolo 

Butchette looking absolutely divine
Photo by Butch Diavolo

Isn't it amazing what can be accomplished with highlights and lowlights? Just look at Butchette's wonderful bosom, who would think that if you saw him from the side he was as flat chested as he always is.

The radiant Ms Bocquerelle, lairdess of Southern Charm etc.
Photo by Butch Diavolo

Story, Andy & Sutry Long

Kharissa, Pieni & Larz Kas

Poor little Pieni, was threatened by Butchette to be skinned and made into shoes. Brave little Pieni was not frightened by the bully because - as I was told later - "Lol he wuld have been in real trouble then. I has sharp teethies and twelve protective uncles. AND aunties and cousins. Hehe".

After a grueling two hour period eventually more and more people started showing up in the requested attire, although some were still not confident enough.

Former Second Pride Chair Doc Spad with one of our DJ's for the evening Karl Kalchek. 

Ms. Regina Yifu (in a creation she made herself) joined Butchette and me in a dance

Andy Long, the second DJ of the evening, surrounded by wives and a sister

We even had the pleasure of being joined by the renowned SecondLife
performance artist SaveMe Oh for a while (before she was kicked out
for creating lag with her sheep and meadows rezzed all over the ballroom)

Butchette, I and my brother in-law Dej with some of SaveMe's sheep

A dazzling beauty whose name I am afraid I have forgotten.
I am not even sure if she was in drag or is a woman.

Well known party goer, illustrious blogger and curmudgeonly Co-Chair of
Second Pride Petr Hastings-Vanbeeck (someone has to keep the others in line)

Hotboy Lockjaw, our last DJ for the evening, for the occasion dressed as Ms Dolly Parton

Installation of the SP2014 Board

Yesterday I gathered, with many other members, to witness the installation of the SP2014 board.

It was a very civilized and undramatic affair with the new board directors dressed up in all their finery (Imagine, if you can, Hotboy in a dashing grey suit which actually covered most of his skin except the face, neck and hands!) while the rest of us there in our usual sexy "shabby chic" attires.

Khar Indigo (archive photo)

The most moving and interesting moment of the event was when Kharissa Indigo, the outgoing Events director, initiated the proceedings with a eulogy for the recently deceased Marcus Steeplechase:

"I want to take a moment to remember Marcus Steeplechase, whose brilliant mind inspired the 2010 board and the community. Marcus was a man that thought outside the box and inspired others to follow. He never judged anyone by gender or sexual preference but encouraged the very best from them. He was a kind-hearted man. He was passionate with a wicked sense of humor and my mentor. More than that he was one of my very best friends. Under Marcus’ leadership, Second Pride produced some amazing events: For example, Teahouse of the August Moon - an inspiring play  done by the Pride players. He spearheaded a fabulous Art Walk that lasted several days with over 80 participants on 3 sims; with a fundraising  party at the end. Marcus orchestrated the huge Haunted Mansion and party bringing together a community of builders. Second Pride Festival that year was inspired by the waterways of Venice. The water floats were a fabulous idea but  try as they might just couldn't seem to get around the waterways. Last year, Marcus returned  for a an encore performance of “The Six Wives of Henry VIII” at Pride.  Marcus was an amazing man in his real life and second life, a champion for those whose needs were greater than his own. He brought the community together like no one else could; people working together to create that special fun and excitement. Sadly he passed away on August 3,  2013, His accomplishments in Second Life and Second Pride and for those of us that knew him, his memory, will live on forever in our hearts.

Like Marcus and others before him,I encourage the new board to take the lead in  helping the community heal and come together. I encourage the community to invite your friends and neighbors to join you. Make something positive happen. I'm looking forward  to a bright future for Second Pride and it’s community. 

Thank you for listening"

The speech was greatly appreciated by the assembled members.

Following that there were a few other speeches and then the outgoing directors that were present passed over passwords etc. to  their incoming counterparts.I am assuming that the directors that were not present have done or will do the same at the earliest convenient moment.

The outgoing board of SP2013 were thanked for their hard work and devotion during the past year, while the incoming board of SP2014 were congratulated and showered with our heartfelt best wishes for the coming year.

"The True Reasons..."

Today I received in my possession a note card from Cortez Brandriss, who was earlier a candidate for Event Director of the Second Pride 2014 board but who withdrew her candidacy.

The note card is unmodifiable and was according to its properties created by Ms Brandriss, despite this I also sought to get a confirmation from Ms Brandriss. I did this before having read the last sentence in this note card, for which I ask Ms Brandriss' forgiveness.

My main reasons for posting this are twofold, Firstly because I love Second Pride and want it to grow and flourish for many years to come and, secondly, because I believe that the membership of Second Pride has the right to know what is happening behind closed doors. 

I will post it without any further personal comment, other than saying that these SP election seems to be turning out to be extremely ugly and messy, with personal attacks, anonymous bloggers and other monkey business. 

Marius Watz "Web Science artwork"

"7/29/2013 Re: Second Pride Election
C/c Second Pride Current Board

 To Doc Spad,

 I have been very confused as to why, what was supposed to be a very quiet and simple withdrawl from this election has turned to a large population of Pride Candidates and Voters coming to me concerned with my departure from the race.

 I was dismayed to find the answer to my question in a notice, sent by you on 7/27 to the entire Second Pride Community, that my reasons for withdrawing from this race were because of a ticket system.

 I tried to make this very clear when we first spoke, and I will clarify again now-- I withdrew from the Second Pride election because of *our* conversation-- a conversation in which the current Chair of Pride, yourself, came to me with an attempt to coerce me to join forces on a ticket with someone I have not ever met, as a means of throwing the vote. I withdrew my candidacy because I was uncomfortable knowing that the Chair of Second Pride was so willing to discuss other candidates with me, someone you barely knew. I withdrew because I felt that I was being asked to be a pawn in a dramatic game of manipulating the vote. The unprofessional freedom you took in that conversation was what caused me to withdraw my candidacy.

 I ran for Second Pride because I admired the outward professionalism of it's team of chairs, and I wanted to do something important for the LGBT community. Our conversation was steeped in drama that I did not want to be a part of, concerning people I do not know and have never met.

 I submitted a formal and professional withdrawl to Baz that did not go into these reasons, only to learn you have distributed a notice that has informed the entire Second Pride Group I left the race over the ticket system. Through this notice, you have not only publicly spoken for me with information that is not true, but you have also publicly pitted me and my withdrawl against the candidates in this entire election.

 I am outraged by the way you have handled this matter, and at the fact you have now brought me into the drama of Second Pride, when I have done nothing but gracefully bowed out of a situation you made uncomfortable for me to begin with.

 Please do not use my withdrawl as any future means to burden this election.

 With this notecard, I would like to officially announce the true reasons for my withdrawl. I ask that I am no longer contacted by any member of Second Pride about this election.

 Sincerely,Cortez Brandriss

 C/c: Second Pride Board. Kyle Beckett, SquirtN Wonder, Tylo Mabellon, Dextrum Boucher, Kharissa Indigo, Mr Gracemount, Baz Ceawlin, Tootsie Nootan"