Things Friends Do (Update)

I just had an exchange on Facebook that left me a bit confused afterwards.

There is also this corroborating thing, that I have always had a problem with sarcasm and irony. (Some say it is because I lack a sense of humor and always take things too seriously and at face value.)

Anyhow, during the exchange the name of the only person I have blocked in SecondLife and on Facebook was dropped into the conversation by the person whom I think of as a friend.

I am not yet certain of why and for what reason really, but right now I have a nagging feeling it was done deliberately and only to hurt me. But I don't understand why this particular person would want to do that. I was also too surprised to confront him at the time.

I'll have to think more about this, it may be just me being silly and hypersensitive. There, now I can get back to trying to sleep.

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Update the next morning (local time)
After sleeping on it - which I should have done before posting, I know - I've reached the conclusion that I (due to totally unrelated events) was being oversensitive and read things into it that may not have been there as far as the other party was concerned. I would delete the post if I had not promised myself never to do that.

Decade Old Avatars

I'll be ten years old in SecondLife next year, so I know a few of those venerable old avatars.

I and Dej at Southern Charm. I am in my second mesh outfit.

My brother - and brother-in-law - Dejerrity Mycron turned ten on October 23, 2016 (Please note, that Dej will never be older than 39, ever!). Today would have been my late husband Ars Northmead's tenth rezday.

I and Ars at an event at Pixel Hill.

As I understand it the two of them met just a couple of days after rezzing into SecondLife and were more or less thick as thieves until Ars passed away.

Dej doesn't believe in the benefits of mesh, so he still looks a lot like we all did in 2008, 2009 & 2010. If Ars was still around, I'm certain he would have come to embrace mesh.

I myself was difficult to convince of the benefits of mesh in the beginning, I always dreaded the fact that my clothes would change my shape instead of the other way around.

Then someone close to me at the time nagged at me and a onetime friend became a "meshista" also, so my resistance finally caved in and I agreed to try it. I'll never go back now.

The Medical Use of Butt Plugs

Butt plugs used to be sold to Americans as a "miracle cure" for insomnia, insanity, headaches, bad breath and acne and a wide range of other maladies.

Sold under the name "Dr Young’s Ideal Rectal Dilators", early primitive forms of butt plugs have been traced back to the late 1800's.

Dr Young’s Ideal Rectal Dilators were made from jelly-like material, with one set the dilators coming in a set of four “torpedolike” rods, from a little half-incher to a four-inch long and inch-wide version (ouch!).

Writing in a 1893 medical journal, the eponymous Dr Young touted the devices as a cure for insanity, insisting that it could cure 75% of people considered insane "in a few weeks' time". The device grew in its alleged benefits the longer that it was on the market, benefiting from lax regulation on medical devices.

Read more about it and how the Federal Food, Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1938 put an end to all the fun over at PinkNews: Butt plugs used to be sold as a ‘miracle cure’ for headaches and acne.

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I think I am going to try these as my "go-to cure" for my migraine, insomnia and every other kind of illness I encounter from now on.

"Only I Can Save You!" (Edited)

The presidential election in the United States this year has caused a great deal of unrest and many rifts in the gay community in SecondLife, at least the part of it that I am in. Old friendships are broken and harsh words and derogatory adjectives are thrown about frequently.

Vladimir Lenin (April 22, 1870 –  January 21, 1924)

I have a fundamental belief in mankind, that we all strive for what we see as the best solution for ourselves and - mostly - for society as a whole. Some say I am naive, but I don't give a damn. I also believe in democracy and the political system to attend to our societies and address the issues that arise.

Josef Stalin (December 18, 1878 – March 5, 1953)

In our societies people - and large groups of them - are sometimes afraid, due to economic setbacks, sickness, unemployment, globalization, civil unrest, whatever or just from a feeling of being disenfranchised. No one sees their plight or listens to their complaints. No one tries to assist them in bettering their conditions, everyone else is just thinking of themselves.

Benito Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945)

When such conditions are present we have more than once in our history seen politicians or parties arise who say they have the absolute remedy or know exactly how to go about creating "change" (unspecified and vague enough). 

Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945)

Most of the time these politicians will claim to be "outsiders" or "not part of the establishment", even though a simple background check will show that they actually are and have been for a long time.

Mao Zedong (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976)

Their often simple solutions start with pointing out who is to blame for the present predicament, it can be a particular race, religious or cultural affiliation, nationality, sexual orientation or economic class. Or better still all of the above jumbled together.

Donald J. Trump (June 14, 1946 -  )

Whenever I encounter a person or a group of people seeking political power who claim to know the the quick-and-fast solution to a given problem and asks me to "Trust me, I am the only one who can save you!", I back away as fast as I can.

Vladimir "Little Father" Putin (October 7, 1952 - )

There have been man politicians and groups throughout history who have made claims on the absolute way to "save" voters. Here are a few examples of "savior politicians", demagogues and despots, in the present and not too distant history (ordered according to date of birth).
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So how do we go from the existence of "savior politicians" to how to handle our friendships and relationships in SecondLife?

In my mind, the absolutely worst way to go about it is to distance yourself. I will never allow myself to assume that one of my friends or acquaintances is a misogynist, racist, Islamophobe, anti-Semite, homophobe or indeed anti-anything merely by whom they support in the American election, not until they express such views and opinions. Until that happens they will remain my friends.

Edit October 23, 2016: The edit today consisted only of moving the pictures, not a word was changed except for "globalization" which was previously misspelled.)

800,000 Pageviews

Opps, I almost missed this historical event for Bock in SecondLife (since June 1st, 2010).

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

TBIF!!!

Thank the Babylonians, it's Friday.

I am going to take it easy all weekend, walk around in my boxers and a T-shirt, read, blog, eat, drink, visit in SecondLife, take naps and then some sleep. It's going to be absolutely fabulous!

Sunday afternoon I will visit with mother and in the evening I will spend an hour doing some housework like paying bills, doing my laundry and dishes and then generally just lounge around a bit more.

I still congratulate myself for my wisdom in deciding to have a cleaning company come to me every third Thursday. All those old guilty thoughts about "You have to clean up, this is getting nasty!" have just vanished and the cost is bearable.

TBIF everyone!

Believe