Getting Ready For The Festival

The Second Pride Region is getting ready to welcome you all to the Second Pride Festival, June 14th-23rd, 2019.

There are still stores of all sizes available and time slots for entertainers. 

Presumptive vendors/sponsors, please contact me (Bock McMillan) inworld! 

Presumptive entertainers, please go here to sign up or contact Lee McKay inworld.

Photography: Tomais Ashdene

Introducing Ashdene Logistics

My husband Tomais has recently bought a new warehouse at a prime location in Bedstraw, close to the SecondLife Railroad (SLRR) and the main roads on the mainland. The location has been chosen to facilitate switching transport mode from railroad to road-borne and vice versa.

Yesterday the new premises were opened for business after Tomais having worked for days with the work requiring electro-technical skills, like installing fire security, logistical software and other niceties. Meanwhile, I was used as a menial laborer doing the heavy carrying and the cleaning.

As my Tomais says, "We are a team and share responsibilities depending on our skill-sets. This job does not require the ability to perform brain surgery or have an intimate knowledge of the fine lines of diplomacy, nor does it require historical insight into the Israel-Palestine conflict. You do what you can do, stop whining and get on with it!"

The opening of Ashdene Logistics at Bedstraw
Photo by Tomais Ashdene

The new warehouse also marks the introduction of Ashdene Logistics, a division of Ashdene Aviation, to the transport market of SecondLife.

Ashdene Logistics will transport anything from one place on the SecondLife grid to the other regardless of volume, weight, and size for a fair price. All your orders will be handled by the highly professional princesses and princes of Southern Charm, dating is optional.

Travelling on the SecondLife Railroad

I may have told you before about my wonderful husband Tomais need to own every vehicle created in SecondLife from 2010 and forward.

Previously this urge was mainly centered on unicycles, bicycles, tricycles, cars, trucks, sailboats, motorboats, barges, blimps, balloons and airplanes of every size, shape, and type known to urbanized man. Well, now my sweet and lovely man has found a new kind of vehicle. Trains.

Yesterday we were traveling on the SecondLife railroad (SLRR) which covers a couple of hundred regions of SecondLife mainland, while Tomais was introducing Lee McMay to his new addiction. Connor Collins, one of Lee's friends from Steamworkz was with us.

We traveled from where Tomais and Lee have their "siding", I believe that's what the parking place for the train is called, all the way to our friend Petr's station at Burn.

I always thought that the mainland was rather ugly, but parts of the landscaping along our route was beautiful.

The New Memorial For My Boys

When my, very much older (Oh he is so going to kill me for that!), brother Dejerrity surprisingly passed away last summer the need for a joint memorial arose for my late husband Ars, his and my brother Dej and (as we found when we cleared up Dej's parcel) Sterling, a k a Bobby, Dej's first husband and true love in SecondLife.

The old memorial which had stood for 8,5 years was starting to feel overwhelming and somewhat creepy, now that I was saner and calmer again. The question was where to place the new downsized memorial. As it happened The Laird's Gardner found true love and left his cabin, so a parcel was freed up, and after some discussion with my husband Tomais, we decided to move the memorial there.

The place is exactly where my and Ars "Quarreling Bench" used to stand (see my blogpost from 2011, The Quarreling Bench (url))

The new memorial site is on the east shore of the Southern Charm region and we have tried to make it a secluded place for the boys and those who visit with them. There is a bench for the visitors to sit on. The hanging lights on both sides of the memorial belong to Ars, who had left them hanging in the air when he passed away.

Tomais helped me and actually did most of the work under my benign leadership, which means that I approved of his excellent ideas from time to time.

I think my boys Ars and Dej would have approved. (I never knew Sterling as he had already passed away when I rezzed into SecondLife.)

SP Board Meeting 02/16/2019 - Minutes Posted

To assist my dear sexy friend Cay (cayson.triellis) and my adorable husband Tomais, the minutes from the board meeting they attended and found bewildering, confusing or downright objectionable are now posted at the Second Pride website (url) under "Documents". This (url) is the direct link to the aforementioned document for the lazy buggers.

The minutes contain a lot of great news, here I will only mention a few select ones.

• Second Pride is applying to become an LGBT+ Gateway to SecondLife. If approved by Linden Lab the organization would save USD249 per month in tier and can reduce its costs - thereby being able to donate more to charitable LGBT+ causes in first life.
• Changes in the mission statement of the Bylaws accepted by the board, to be voted on by the Membership.
• Members are - as has been mentioned in a previous post - invited to contribute with their ideas on an updated logo for Second Pride, a theme for the Festival in June, and additional services they would like from Second Pride.
• The 15^th annual Second Pride Festival will take place between June 14^th and 23^rd, 2019.
• New and improved donation kiosks are now available.

Read all about it and more at greater length in the minutes!

P.S. The Build Director also promised Cay to consider reintroducing floats parade in the festival.

Are Centaurs Extinct? (Updated Landmark to New Store)

The answer to the question in the title is, of course, a resounding "Hell no!".

Despite what you may have been taught, centaurs are not creatures of fable or mythology. Neither did the race die out entirely when their mares left them to wander off and die lonely deaths on the plains of Central Asia.

The story of how the species was saved and survived to this day through heroic efforts by the first laird and his wife is a living legend within clan McMillan.

The first laird Callum and his spouse the goddess-witch Minerva came across the last three living centaurs during their travels in Asia Minor. They were in a pitiful state after a long life of ribaldry, whoring and worse.

With the skilled ministrations of Minerva, the centaurs were brought back to health and were offered a safe haven in the laird's clan, who at the time lived in the Scottish Highlands. 

Over time there was intermarriage between the species and the McMillan clan became the renowned shapeshifters they are today. (Clan McMillan and their distant relations the Ashdene family are among the last remaining shapeshifters still among us.) To this day they choose at will in which manner they wish to present themselves.

Notes:

Centaur body (Bento) and skin from Jinx. https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/52351 (right now only sold at We ♥ Roleplay (SLurl)) UPDATE: Landmark to the New Jinx Store (SLurl)

The armor is my Valentine's Day gift from my husband Tomais.

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!

Five Years With Tomais

Today My Tomais and I celebrate our fifth anniversary as a couple. It's really strange to think about it because it doesn't really feel that long, more like a year or maybe two.

My Tomais at Regi's & Ty's 7th Bashaversary, photo by JJ Goodman

Credit for us still being a couple goes to Tomais' legendary patience and his well-controlled temper, not to mention his sweet and loving character and his need of a sometimes blunt companion who is ready to contact anyone to ask for rez-rights.

Still love you to bits, darling, would you please consider continuing with me another year?

"Twirl, Baby Twirl", Petr Said

Some of you may remember the post I made of my Christmas pressie from Petr, "Showing Off Petr's Christmas Gift" (url). In the comments, Petr made this request: "Twirl baby twirl. Show us the back side (Evil Grin)"

Not a terribly specific entreaty now is it, except for wishing me to show my backside. Did he want a conventional picture, something artistic or, well, something just from behind? So I am sharing three versions here.

Version 1: "Bock's backside from a distance"

The arrow points to me standing on Tomais' platform.

Version 2: "Le Bock au coucher du soleil"

This one shows me in an artisique pose against the setting sun. The displacement is supposed to make you aware of our peripheral existence in the void of the vast and vacuous universe.

Finally, version 3, "Boringly Conventional"

This one shows "the crack and the strap", just like I believe Petr may have wanted it.

This Year We Were First...

Last year Tomais and I almost missed sending out our Holiday greetings to friends and family, so this year Tomais started early and we had the card ready to send out in the middle of November, or close enough...

"Holiday Card 2018" by Tomais Ashdene

Tomais informed me, with a stern voice, that we were sending the card out either when we received our first card or December 1^st, whichever happened first.

We wish all our family and friends a 

wonderful and happy holiday season!

Happy 10th Rezday, Tomais!

"Night Life" by Tomais Ashdene

My wonderful and sexy husband celebrates his 10th rezday in SecondLife today. He is so lucky that I have decided to remain married to such an old avatar. Of course, that decision may have been affected by his pleasant nature and his stunningly good looks.

I'm Drunk But I Have Never Been More Sane In My Life

Love all you sweet people!

It's been one of the worst days of my life but after a few snaps on the recommendation of my love Tomais and my buddy Lee, and I am feeling just awesome! Akvavit solves all problems and makes you feel mellow and forgiving and loving and sweet.

Anyone want to come to Sweden for some hanky-panky tonight?

It's A Party...And You're All Welcome!

Please join us in celebrating Life, Love and the grand opening of Static Frenzy's exhibition at the Northmead Gallery, Southern Charm, SecondLife on Saturday, October 20th, 2018, at 12 PM (noon) SLT.

Music will be provided by the amazing Lee McKay. (By special dispensation, music by ABBA will be permitted - for the first and only time ever - on Southern Charm.)

SecondLife photographer Static Frenzy, as many already know, is renowned and loved for his vision of what it means to be an LGBT-man in a virtual reality with scenes from his everyday life, budding romances, and hot sexual encounters.

The Northmead Gallery also has its permanent galleries showing the works of JJ Goodman, Wayne Allan, and Tomais Ashdene besides parts of the Laird of Southern Charm's vast collection of  SecondLife artwork.

Wear whatever you feel like, but wear something. (The only one permitted to be completely nude is Mr. Apmel Goosson Esq., should he wish to attend.)

Remember, all the best parties should have at least one sim crash.

Here is your limousine waiting to transport you to The Northmead Gallery at Southern Charm (SLurl).

Chez Nathanael & Ophiel

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of the Southern Enchantment Realm and Outer Territories and finally UN-appointed Protector of the Mount Whitney sim in SecondLife (that's me), yesterday made an official visit with mes chers cousins Nathanael Sommerfeld and Ophiel Er'el, Marquis of Montfort l'Amaury.

The official reason for the visit was that Monfort l'Amaury has recently received a complete redecoration into an 18th-century roleplay sim and is now going to open its doors to the general public, or the hoi polloi as we entitled people prefer to say.

Official photography of the meeting by JJ Goodman.
From left to right, my consort Tomais Ashdene, the Duke of Erat and a prince of the realm,
my brother JJ Goodman, a prince of the realm, the Laird (i.e. me), Ophiel Er'el, Marquis of
Monfort l'Amaury, and his consort Graf Simon Hieronymus Casimir zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
(Nathanael Sommerfeld) and finally Holter Rez., a prince of the realm. 
Missing from the picture is Wayne Allen, a prince of the realm.

The real reason, however, was to bring the diplomatic negotiations concerning the incorporation of Monfort l'Amaury (as a self-governing region) into the Commonwealth of the Southern Enchantment Realm to a successful close.

Welcome to my world dear cousins. You are hereby both granted the title of "Prince of the Realm". May our friendship last and may our cooperation be successful.

Dancing

Identical Twins

My twin brother JJ visited our sim today.

"Monozygotic twins" by JJ Goodman

Tomais and I have been relandscaping Dej's parcel at Southern Charm (Well, Tomais really, but I have been overseeing his work.)

JJ, whose partner Wayne is temporarily away, has a lot of free time on his hands and uses it mainly to admire himself if you don't drag him from their sim. So I tempted him with the suggestion that he could come to look at me instead, as we are identical twins. He fell for it and could appreciate Tomais great work with the landscaping also.

Is Hot-Pink the Right Color For Me?

When I logged in today, Tomais was at Noche with JJ and Wayne, to check out the new thongs. I teleported over and liked what I saw. The bulge comes in four sizes, so as the humble and shy person I actually am I went for size three (second largest).

You can always use a good thong so I got the fatpack with loads of textures. Not sure if hot-pink is the best color for me though.

Photo by JJ Goodman

Today I was extremely talkative, sort of wired up, and a bit too blunt. I really must try and control myself when I am like this.

New Blog Header - Late Summer 2018

Bock in SecondLife's art director and my husband, Tomais Ashdene, has made a new header for the late summer season of 2018. There has been so much happening in our first lives and our SecondLife earlier this year, so we have not had much time to think about it before, and even less time to actually do it.

This header is already one of my favorites. Thank you so much, my darling!

Attention

Attention: Will the owners of a blue planet with plate tectonics please attend to your vehicle. It is overheating.

— God (@TheTweetOfGod) July 24, 2018

H/T Tomais Ashdene

Clean-Up In Aisle 7

Tomais has gotten an automated cleaning crew up on his platform. We haven't really gotten it to recognize what is trash and what isn't...

P.S. I just realized I misspelled aisle. *sigh*