EXCLUSIVE Laird Confesses; "I Use Windlights"

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment Region and Outer Territories and finally UN appointed Protector of the Mount Whitney sim in SecondLife, today made a surprising confession during an exclusive interview for this blog.

"Turn Away from the Light" by Bock McMillan

"During most of my life I have been fascinated by photography. When I came into SecondLife some eight years ago I was thrilled by the handy photo-tool in the various viewers. I have used them to the fullest throughout my existence here.  Until recently I have always worked with the natural or preexisting light settings on the sim I have been on, but lately - under the influence of my consort H.R.H. Prince Tomais, I'm sure - I have begun playing around with the Windlight settings when I take pictures. 

"As I am not an accomplished photographer like the prince of my heart, but a mere snap-shooter the extent of "my art" until lately has consisted of snapping the picture at an angle I like and then do some creative cropping. Now I have started playing with the Windlight settings too, just like I have always teased Tomais for doing, but it takes me even longer than it does for Tomais because I have to go through them twice before I can decide on which light I like best.

With a slight shudder a a beautiful blush on his cheeks, the laird continued "I felt a need to make this shocking revelation considering how I have been teasing Tomais for his trying out of all Windlight settings and then some (he has a shitload of extra settings that don't come with the viewers). I have considered founding a Windlight Anonymous (WA), but I am not sure if I will go through with those plans."

All three pictures in this post were shot by the laird himself at the IN SILICO sim. The outfit is The Soft Suit from Shu Mesh and the poses are by Finn Millar and Spencer Roncales of Vice Poses.

#Dej3000Days

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment Region and Outer Territories and finally UN appointed Protector of the Mount Whitney sims in SecondLife, today issued the following proclamation. 

"It is with great pleasure We today congratulate Dejerrity Mycron, Our brother and Our dearest friend, on his first 3.000 days in SecondLife.

Although Our sweet, crazy and supportive brother first rezzed into SecondLife on October 23rd, 2006, he doesn't look a day older than 2.000 days, We are certain that you will all agree.

It is therefor a great joy for Us to - in honor of Dej - proclaim this day a day of celebration of "Oldies but Goldies", in all of the territories under Our benevolent rule.

Though We cannot command it, We express the hope that all other realms who wish to maintain good relations with Us in the future follow us in this.

Happy #Dej3000Days to you all!"

The Laird's New Year Address - 2014

Friends, residents of SecondLife, countrymen in the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment and residents in regions under Our protection,

As tradition bids We address you on this last day of the year. In a few hours the bells will toll and 2014 will end. The new year 2015 will be here. Of this we can be certain, and we look forward to it in hope and anticipation, but we cannot predict what it will bring us.

When We look back at the past year in first life and SecondLife it is - as always - with mixed feelings. Many things have moved forward and been improved but others are still the same or even worse.

From a strictly personal perspective the year 2014 will forever in Our heart be remembered as "Primus annus Thomaidis" (The first year of Tomais). Our royal consort's  love, patience, humor and thoughtfulness has been a great support for Us throughout the past year. His presence in Our life is a source of unceasing joy for which We will always be amazed and grateful.

For SecondLifer's in general and for SecondLife itself, We believe that 2014 will be remembered as the year when Ebbe Linden (in first life a.k.a. Ebbe Altberg) came to the salvation of us residents. Since Ebbe assumed the reigns of Linden Lab many advantageous changes in policies and practices have been made. We can - hopefully - look forward to many more years with Ebbe.

In Our first life We despair at the sight of such dictators as Vladimir "Little Father" Putin and the massmurderer Bashar al-Assad, not to mention others, with the help of their henchmen still in control of their respective countries to the detriment and misfortune of their countrymen.

However, we mustn't be discouraged, there is a New Year ahead with infinite possibilities and much hope of change. If we all, like the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, resolve to work together to make our worlds into better places we can surely accomplish many improvements.

We wish you all a fabulous, fantastic and fruitful new year! Be happy, be safe and be forever vigilant against the powers of evil until the day you die of old age with a smile on your wrinkled face!

You Can Become A (Quasi-)Laird Too

Become a Laird or Lady of a castle in Scotland

Get a free tour of the Dunans Castle and grounds and visit your exact plot of land

Presented in a luxury metal gift tin

Get your own email address with your title. E.g. yourname@ladyofdunans.com

See product description for full list of entitlements

(Tipped by the lairds consort)

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This is a fabulous Holiday Gift for the friend who has e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g!

WARNING! Although this is almost and sort-of the real thing, but don't start calling the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm etc., etc., your cousin after buying this. He will most likely smite you and throw you into one of his dungeons for being impertinent and believing you have become equal to him.

GA WinterFest Awards Today at 10 AM SLT

Oh lordie, lordie, this will be exciting, this could be a great day for the the laird and his consort!

There will be an award ceremony today at the GA WinterFest for Best Booth Contest and the Best Photography Contest. 

I know that my Tomais entered into the photo contest by sending in his contribution. I also know that didn't apply anywhere for the booth contest, but who knows, perhaps no application was needed for that!.  

Your transport to the Winterfest sim!

Actions & Words

This may come as a complete surprise to many of you, but let me tell you anyway! I, the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm etc., etc., am not a perfect man.

I do indeed have flaws, weaknesses and some really ugly habits. Nevertheless, over the course of my life, I have also come to realize that I do have some pretty amazing qualities also. I have an inordinate capacity to love and care for people as they they are and without a need to change them. I am also fiercely loyal to those I love and care about. Although I sometimes joke about my lack of patience, I am - much to my own surprise - still one of the most patient men I know.

Most importantly, I have an uncanny ability for picking good men for myself. I don't mean to say that there are not other good men out there, but that the men I select as my mates are good for me, they complete me and are worthy of my trust. They understand me, see me for what I am and support me when I need it and otherwise let me loose. They can laugh with me and at me (in a way that isn't hurtful) and they make me laugh at myself too. (My "ability" may of course also be just dumb luck, but I do not like to see it that way.)

I am not an easy man to live with, but neither was my Ars or is my Tomais, I am certain that the two partners I have had in my SecondLife, would have respected and loved each other if they had met.

Although I am a man who believes in the importance of words and what people say and how they choose to express themselves, because there is always a choice, my two men bring into the mix the firm belief that words alone are meaningless. Words must be followed up and proven by actions. Ars always said "Actions speak louder than words" and Tomais lives by that rule.

There is a point when telling someone "I love you" and "I am sorry" is not enough anymore, they become empty air, mere flatulence. What one says has to be manifested in action. We are always responsible for our actions, however bad we feel at the time. The word "sorry" needs to be followed by change. Saying the word while repeating the same actions doesn't mean that you can force - or are entitled to - someones forgiveness. They decide if you should or if they want to forgive you, it's not for you to decide.

My promise to Tomais today is that when we are together I will no longer allow others to pull me into their tantrums. I am expecting that you will need to remind me of these words in the beginning, my love, but please never hesitate to do so. You are more important to me than anyone or anything else. Know that!

Snubbed Again!

"That tired old spiteful German tart, she has done it again!"

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment Region and Outer Territories and finally UN appointed Protector of the Mount Whitney sim in SecondLife, has been frantically repeating that sentence all day, to anyone who cared to listen. 

It is of course the lack of an invitation to today's Nobel prize ceremony and banquet that has upset the laird. He blames Silvia, the Queen of Sweden, and their long-lasting feud for being snubbed yet again.

This year the Commonwealth of Southern Charm even sent a delegation to the Nobel Prize Committee and the Royal Court of Sweden to ensure an invitation. Alas the mission was unsuccessful as no one could convince the queen to forgive the laird.

The Foreign Ministry of Southern Charm today summoned the Swedish Ambassador, her excellency Ms Kandinsky Beaumont, to meet with Wild Zepp, Minister of the Exterior, to inform her of the lairds great displeasure over this continued animosity and hostility.

Cruising at the Docks

As the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm etc., etc,. was cruising around the docks today he encountered a sexy and wonderful man. To his amazement he soon realized it was actually his hubby.

Now wasn't that a wonderful coincidence?

The Aviary

The much honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm etc., etc., is a fortunate man to have found a royal consort like Tomais, who with dazzling good looks, devastating charm and impeccable taste can alleviate the lairds burdens.

As you probably are aware, the laird is a conscientious and diligent steward of his realm. He saves no effort in the painstaking upkeep and beautification of his lands. His consort offers him much needed assistance and guidance in these - and all other - matters.

The Balinese building on the home sim has for some time been an unfitting eyesore to the laird. It did not seem to match the rest of the sim, at all, although it had been beautifully exotic at the time when it was once erected.

When Tomais recently suggested a change the laird was slightly wary, but once he was  shown the replacement his husband suggested he was enthusiastic.

The minor princes and princesses of the clan were set to work and managed to demolish the old structure and build the new one in record breaking time.

Guyke, The Prince of Paradijs, tries the harpsichord

Southern Charm can now pride itself with a wonderful conservatory, named "The Aviary", where the royal couple can entertain themselves and friends with tea, light refreshments, musical entertainment and dancing.

A Linguistic Mishap

This is a difficult confession, as I have always prided myself of my command of the English language, so I will use my alter-ego when sharing this glimpse into my life with you.

The laird. Photography by J.J. Goodman

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment Region and Outer Territories and finally UN appointed Protector of the Solace Island and Mount Whitney sims in SecondLife, was laying in bed with his beloved consort Tomais a few nights ago. (The Solace Island sim no longer enjoys the protection of the laird.)

Earlier the same day the laird had been cleaning out his Inventory and reduced it from 30,430 items to 25,643 by deleting a whole lot of system clothing (except a few who had sentimental value to him). He was pleased with his accomplishment and was now thinking of the next step to take after he had culled his objects folder, his textures folder, his snapshots folder, his note cards folder and his landmarks folder. (Although he himself emphatically maintains otherwise, he really isn't the most patient man in SecondLife, as you can establish from his skipping the arduous work still remaining with the aforementioned folders.)

The laird had, ever since he heard of his consorts neat and well-organized Inventory, wanted to learn how to organize his own Inventory in a similar way so that he would be better able to find what he was looking for and no longer having to rely on dumb luck or that he remembered the correct name of an item. Even though the laird himself is not a pedantic man by nature, he (most likely through his upbringing and his meticulous parents) has always held a deep and lasting admiration for well-organized people, although he tries to hide that fact and talks rather disdainfully about it. He was therefor very eager to learn from his lover how to organize his Inventory better.

But I am procrastinating, onward with this gory confession.

The laird and his consort. Photography by J.J. Goodman

With those thoughts in his mind, the laird turned to his consort and said - in his usual rather bossy way, "Next weekend you really must show me your anal content..."

The laird was not at all prepared for the rumbustious and boisterous laughter that erupted from his lover before he could complete his sentence. He was rather taken aback and wondered what had happened until his lover, still laughing loudly and heavily. managed to squeeze in a coherent sentence, "You want me to show you my shit?"

At which point the laird blushed (which he rarely does) and started stammering that that was indeed not the request he wished to express at all.

After my lover had calmed down, he related a story about his mother who committed a similar faux-pas at a social gathering and very kindly pointed out that such unfortunate occurrences do happen and although embarrassing are never fatal. A while later, once the laird had collected himself, they could both laugh at it.

The Scottish Referendum

Yesterday more than 3.6 million Scots turned out to answer the question: ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’

The much honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment Region and Outer Territories and finally UN appointed Protector of the Solace Island and Mount Whitney sims in SecondLife, has monitored the referendum with much interest and some anxiety. Although the laird himself was not eligible to vote in the referendum, he has had much empathy for the trials and tribulations of his distant cousins in deciding this issue.

In the days before the referendum the all three of the largest parties in the United Kingdom visited Scotland and promised a greater devolution of powers to the Scottish parliament on issues of taxation, spending and welfare if the voters voted for ‘No’. 

The votes have now been tallied and the result of the referendum is shown in the graph below.

Graph quoted from guardian.com

The ‘No's won all except four of the 32 counties, the four ‘Yes’-counties being Dundee (57,3%), West Dunbartonshire (54,0%), Glasgow (53,5%) and North Lanarkshire (51,1%).

Following the result of the Scottish referendum the largest political parties have now also promised a greater devolution of powers for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Rejoice

I am back on the Internet again! I hope you only missed me half as much as I missed ya'll, particularly one of you...

I lost connection with Tomais, the Internet and the World Wide Web late on Sunday evening (local time) when my modem completely died on me when I was restarting it. After reporting the failure to my ISP on Monday morning it took them until today to ship me the replacement modem.

I am going to tell Comhem (my ISP) what I think of this. I was almost close to dying from abstinence. Surely they should be able to speed up this process of replacing modems by letting its customers go and pick up a new modem at any of the very many home-electronic stores.

Parvin to the Rescue

Yesterday the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment Region and Outer Territories and finally UN appointed Protector of the Solace Island and Mount Whitney sims in SecondLife, was close to a nervous breakdown.

The laird was puttering about at his ongoing supersecret project - which is to be revealed to the world in the not to distant future - but there was a building thingamabob that he just couldn't get quite right despite having been at it for hours. As he saw that Parvin, a.k.a. Xcept Atlas (left, archive photo) the laird's friend and the Market Lead of the Gay Archipelago, was close by the laird in his desperation called out to him for help.

Parvin swiftly responded to the cry for help, took a look at the problem at hand and said in a calm voice: "Well, I am not a builder but I am good at maths and I believe this issue can be solved with three prims, a square, a triangle and a semicircle." Whereupon he immediately started working on proving his point.

The laird looked on in wonderment as the brilliant man worked on the solution to his difficult situation. Parvin was done in less than  five minutes. The result was amazing and the botheration was completely solved to his satisfaction.

The laird was so relieved and overjoyed that he was prepared to knight the beautiful and highly respectful young man on the spot. Uncertain whether that would fit into the rest of Parvin's chosen existence in SecondLife the laird instead settled on giving him a gold medal for his excellent service.

I of course at once contacted Rico, the Lead of GA, to inform him what a brilliant and accomplished Market Lead he had.

When Tomais arrived at the scene he was put to work on texturing the prims according to the lairds wishes and his own better judgement. 

Let me tell you, the final result is stupendous and fabulous, as you will get the opportunity to witness with your own eyes in the near future. 

I am a man with no real talent for SecondLife, which so highly relies on the creativity and skills of it's resident's. However, to paraphrase Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire", "I have always depended on the kindness of my family and friends."

I do have a knack of inadvertently surrounding myself with an abundance of amazingly skilled and talented family and friends who can help me out and guide me whenever I need it. I love them all dearly!

Hinterland Seven

Hinterland is celebrating the seventh anniversary of it's creation on Saturday, May 31, 2014, from 2 AM SLT.

The kind, wonderful, hot, sexy and amazing lairds of Hinterland invite us all to join them in the celebration. There will be a Deep Forest theme and loads of fun and prizes to give away.

Isolation Ended

The laird is welcomed back to SecondLife by his royal consort

Logins Disabled - SecondLife Isolated from the Laird

Unscheduled Maintenance
Posted by Status Desk on May 2nd, 2014 at 01:26 pm PDT

[Posted 1:06 PM PDT, 02 May 2014] We are currently undergoing unscheduled maintenance on some of our primary systems. During this maintenance, various functions, including logins, may be unavailable. Please refrain from rezzing no-copy objects and making L$ transactions until the all clear is given.

---

It is hoped that the present condition will be resolved soon as the laird is eager to meet his hubby and the rest of his people. Should the lairds consort be equally eager, the laird can be found waiting for him on Skype... Just saying!

Absolutely Fabulous!

The delicious Tomais and his spouse Bock, the laird of Southern Charm

The delicious Avacar and his spouse Rico, the Lead of Gay Archipelago

On Sunday evening I dragged the second most patient man in SecondLife with me to the finals of the Miss Wigstock 2014 contest. I mean, isn't it wonderful how things work themselves out - sometimes with a little help from close friends - here I am madly in love with a man almost as patient as myself and he is in love with me too?

Anyhow, the Gay Archipelago, through the combined forces of nature Othon Weiland and Oliver Elton, had yet again put together a great show for us to enjoy.

There were five finalists, the fabulous Fanny Flamingo (Richardson Nootan), the Divine Dame Black (Waveyjustin), the delectable Cieline Dionysis (Ciel Silentghost), the delicious Donatella (Didier Rascon) and the peerless Paige Turner (Hobbit Zenfold).

The Fabulous Fanny Flamingo with escorts

The Delectable Cieline Dionysis with escorts 

The bygone drag queens, from left to right
Hottie B Lockjaw (winner 2010), Juve Wheelwright (winner 2013) and Oliver Elton

The Delicious Donatella with muscular escorts

The Peerless Paige Turner
who had the most stunning entrance

Judge Mimi Juneau

Judge Rene Bonaparte

Judge Owl Braveheart

Rico and Parvin on the podium for the prize ceremony

Parvin dashing as always

Some poor sods who could not get a table in the V.I.P. section

The results of the contest turned out like this.
Winner (score 93 points) Didier Rascon
1st runner up (score 91 points) Hobbit Zenfold
2nd runner-up (score 81 points) Waveyjustin

I agree with the judges that it was indeed a toss-up between Didier and Hobbit, congratulations to both of them and thank you to Gay Archipelago and all the other organizers and contestants for giving us a wonderful show!

O Tempora, O Mores!

In olden and I don't hesitate to call them better times, not that long ago really, it was customary for a suitor to pay a visit to the father of the intended bride or groom to ask for the beloved child's hand in marriage. During the visit the suitor would be asked to state his case and give provide proof of his good intentions, his suitability and his means to keep the beloved child in a manor to which it had become accustomed.

Those are now bygone days I am sad to say. Yesterday while I was hastily going through the latest updates on Facebook, after my hot and steamy shower and immediately before I hit the Egyptian linens that cover my stately fourposter bed, I - by pure chance, I swear - came across the announcement below.

You can of course imagine my complete and utter state of shock at seeing this news.

Add to this the fact that I had spoken to the two no less than twenty minutes earlier without being told a word about this news that they now flaunted for all the world to see.

Luckily for me and the two newlyweds, I was in communications with my royal consort at the time of this discovery, otherwise a troop of the Southern Charm palace guards would have been sent out to search for and apprehend the two and throw them into the dungeons beneath the palace - in separate cells, mind you - to stew until it suited my pleasure to speak to them, in a year or two.

However, my wiser and more sensible spouse convinced me that we must change with the times and accept the fact.

"Both the boys are old enough to know what they want and do as they wish", he told me and also reminded me of the fact that I had myself been rather hastily married to him not long ago. Although I told Tomais that was not at all the same thing, as neither he or I had fathers that could be approached  and that we had waited two months. I also added that both the newlyweds had personally made me a firm promise not to jump the guns.

"They are young", he said, "you must forgive them, lover. We will both send good thoughts to them and hope that everything will go well!" I realized of course, that Tomais advice was - as always - sound but told him I still needed to sleep on it to come to terms with it. Tomais agreed that that might be the best thing to do, considering my weakened state.

So today I, the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment Region and Outer Territories and finally UN appointed Protector of the Solace Island and Mount Whitney sims in SecondLife, am here to tell you all the following.

From the bottom of my heart I congratulate Crown Prince Guyke, Prince of Paradijs, and Mr. Garrett Smith Esq., a Texan of no - as yet - known royal lineage, to their recent wedding. I also heartily welcome Garrett Smith into the family, where he shall be given a place at the main table at all formal state occasions. In due course he may, or may not, be given a suitable title.

Another Uncommon Cold

So I am off work for a few days and have a full to-do list and what happens? I am suddenly hit with the uncommon cold! For some strange reason this always occurs when I am off work, there is most likely a reasonable explanation for it but I am to weak and frustrated to care.

Some American porn model standing in for the laird

American Indians were killed off in droves by the common cold when the Europeans started colonizing their continents. The uncommon cold is their payback and only hits men of clan McMillan. It is not fatal, but makes us feel like shit with a fever and runny noses and has us coughing, sniveling and complaining loudly all over the place.

Don't mention chicken soup, I detest everything that has to do with those ugly, smelly and foul creatures.

Interrogatory Tea

On Friday evening Guyke, Prince of Paradijs, and his suitor Garrett Smith received an invitation for tea with the laird and his royal consort at their summer palace.

As the Crown Prince of Southern Charm, Guyke of course understood that the "invitation" was nothing less than a lairdal command. His beautiful face turned ashen and he gasped for breath as his hands shook slightly while he made it crystal clear to Garrett that the plans they had for the evening must be cancelled.

When the young men arrived at the summer palace they were greeted by Tomais and Bock. Tomais was his usual exuberant charming self and immediately put Garrett at ease with his friendliness. The laird was more withdrawn and claimed to have some important state duties to take care of while Tomais showed Garrett the palace and the grounds.

The lairds urgent business was in fact to receive the latest updates on a dossier about Garrett Smith and his life, in first life, SecondLife and all his other Internet activities during the last 15 years that had been assembled by the Southern Charm Secret Service (SCSS) and its affiliates (the American NSA, CSI and FBI, the British Secret Service, MI 5 and MI 6 and the Israeli Mossad). The dossier was now more than twelve inches thick, nothing the man had ever done had escaped scrutiny.

As the laird could not be expected to memorize it all he was supplied with an earphone connected to one of his aides who would supply him with information throughout the "interview" with the unsuspecting Garrett.

After the tour was over, the four of them sat down at the kitchen table for some tea, scones, pleasant conversation and a meticulously veiled interrogation.

Garrett did and said everything right, there was nothing underhanded or dishonest in his answers to the questions that the laird posed to him. The relief that the laird felt on the outcome of the interview was noticeable both on his face and in his demeanor.

Everyone was able to relax and enjoy the rest a very pleasant evening, part of it dancing as mermen.

However the laird was somewhat confused about why his stepson started blushing and frantically giggling every time Garrett mentioned his possession of a Texas longhorn. Why would the ownership of cattle get the boy in such a tizzy?