Twisted Lover - Billie Ray Martin

Twisted Lover by Billie Ray Martin
(via Joe.My.God.)
You can find many more embeddable songs by Billie Ray Martin here or on her website. http://www.billieraymartin.com/

“The singer is Billie Ray Martin and she’s one of the living legends in modern music history and one of the best voices on planet earth.” DJ HELL

Billie Ray Martin once described herself as ‘a kid from the red light district of Hamburg who wanted to be a soul singer and found herself making repetitive electronic music, while still trying to be soul singer’.

After first appearing as a guest vocalist on electro pioneers S-Express’s hit single “Hey Music Lover” (as well as two tracks on their platinum debut album), Billie Ray Martin came to greater prominence leading the acclaimed deep house act Electribe 101, her unique voice hitting the house scene and charts alike with a serious infusion of soul.

It´s Saturday and time to start looking for a party. I will be in SecondLife, look me up if you wish!

What Did You Mean, Philip?

SecondLife founder Philip Rosedale, a.k.a. Philip Linden, according to an article in New York Times talking about SecondLife recently made two statements that have caused a great deal of speculation and concern among residents and bloggers.

The two statements are, "The problem with creating an immersive 3-D experience is that it is just too involved, and so it’s hard to get people to engage,” and “Smart people in rural areas, the handicapped, people looking for companionship, they love it. But you have to be highly motivated to get on and learn to use it.”

Among most bloggers the statements have been interpreted as derogatory and as an almost treacherous attack by the previously well liked former CEO, now Chairman of the Board, of Linden Lab. (See for example The Metaverse Journal Philip Rosedal spruiks new venture, talks down Second Life?, Eddi Haskell Shame on Philip Rosedale. He´s Joined the Second Life Haters!, Ener Hax Philip even thinks SL is dead, Botgirls Second Life Diary Rosedales Milkshake or Sven Idyll (in Swedish) Second Life 2012 to mention a few.)

On New World Notes today blogger Herman Au makes a completely different - and more beneficial - interpretation on Philips statements in this post, No, Second Life Founder Philip Rosedale Probably Doesn't Think Second Life is "Dead". Herman Au writes,

"So I read what Philip's saying as good news: It's clear that he understands the challenges SL faces, and it explains why he's passed the reigns of its day-to-day operations to Rod Humble, who has managed to make a 3D virtual experience with user-generated content -- i.e. Sims 3 -- into a mass market phenomenon. For many years, Philip and other Lindens insisted the high learning curve and the 3D graphics and the heavy client and all that wouldn't hurt SL's growth. (I said as much myself.) But Second Life can only grow if its developers recognize who is using SL now, and what it will take, for people outside these smaller segments to embrace it."

Instead of everyone speculating about what Philip Rosedale may or may not have meant by his statements I wish he himself would come out and clarify what he actually does mean.

I hope that some of the major blogs with well developed lines of communications with Linden Lab - or those that are known to be read by Linden Lab officials or employees - will pick up on this as I do not expect this humble blog is on any of their reading lists.

Erotic Dream

After a hectic but good day at work I ventured out into the everyday Swedish reality to get antidepressants for myself and two medicines for my mother.

In the old days, when we still had a pharmaceutical monopoly in this country, buying medication used to be easy. Since the monopoly was abolished in 2009 (when the Swedish government cited the fact of Sweden being the only democracy along with the dictatorships Cuba and North Korea to retain its monopoly) it has - sometimes - become a laborious undertaking.

Where I earlier could get the information from the first pharmacy (if they were out of stock) which other pharmacy close by had the other two drugs in stock I now had to visit five different pharmacies on a hit-and-miss mission to obtain the other two.

After proudly delivering my loot to mother I got home at around 7 P.M and was struck by Friday coma, so I went to bed for a short refreshing nap. I woke up four (4) hours later laughing and in a state of sexual arousal because of a very amusing and exciting dream.

I will not go into details but it was a sort of erotic version of the movie "Groundhog Day" featuring myself in the lead with a working class hero - who shall remain unnamed - in many variations on the same theme. Each repetition ending with the same question, "Why do you call me "ass-licker" like it was a bad thing?".

I think - but am not certain - that the repeated question was due to the fact that I have been subconsciously thinking about how I should respond to a mail I received the other day from another SecondLife resident who a while ago, in an implicit way, called me and a friend ass-lickers on her blog.

Who Would Kiss Ratzinger?

The clothing retailer Benetton today pulled an advertisement in it´s "Unhate" campaign showing the homophobe Pope Benedict XVI kissing Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed El-Tayeb, imam of the renowned al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, after the Vatican threatened legal action "to protect the pope's image".

I could actually have understood if the sheikh had protested vehemently but who still thinks it can hurt Ratzinger´s  reputation to be seen kissing a grown man with a full beard? (Deleted sentence)

Way to go, Benetton, the lack of any sense of humour in the Vatican has already made this campaign an unrivaled success.

UPDATE:
After reading Eddi´s comment I thought it might be helpful in seeing the comic in the picture of the pope and the sheikh to see it in the full context of the Unhate-campaign so I have added the rest of the ads below.

Chancellor of Germany - President of France

Paramount Leader of the Peoples Republic of China - President of the USA

President of the Palestinian National Authority - Prime Minister of Israel

President of the USA - President of Venezuela

Supreme Leader of North Korea - President of South Korea

Idea for Masquerade

I found this great picture of a hot man in an amazing and exotic outfit on my friend Torro Spyker´s blog The Bullring a good awhile ago.

Outfit by Flondo

If you wish to see more stunning outfits on hot men look here Magical World of Flondo!

As Torro tells us in his post, "If you are planning a masquerade and you're in search of some exotic inspiration, there are few artists around today who deliver the oriental and the theatrical with anything like the flair (and kink!) of Flondo."

Next time I am going to a masquerade I will for sure try this look.

"Bock, You Are Such A Lens Bug"

As I reported yesterday, I left the Imagine peacefest at Solace Island on Sunday rather hastily.

This was because I received a call from my buddy Eddi Haskell, major SLebrity, blogger, fashionista, photographer, machinimista etc. etc., to come to the shooting of his appearance on The DJ Insyx Show. This show is a weekly show produced by the great people over at Gay-World News.

When I informed my sister Millimina Salamander that I was leaving and the reason for it she said, "Bock, you are such a lens bug!" (A "lens bug" (linslus) is a Swedish colloquial phrase referring to someone who very much likes to be photographed.)

The laird in a beautiful Pashmina shawl and a girly sit on the far left.

Fabrice Snook from Gay World News overseeing the taping and looking hot

Although I told her I was just going to be a part of the audience at the taping and would most likely not appear on camera, she just laughed me off. My sister is loving but sometimes I want to wring her neck!

The reason I went so fast to the taping was of course that I assumed he would tell the story about what happened to him in real life at the Hotel Mark Twain in San Francisco along with a hot blond. But no such luck this time. instead he went on and on about other interesting topics concerning his Secondlife experiences.

You can see the taped show on Eddi´s blog Eddi Haskell´s Second Life My Second Life Television Debut.... (Be careful with the sound level, start out low.)

The Laird Inspects Installation Art

"No Name Yet" Installation art by Kandinsky Beaumont

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm and prince of Cascade Falls, deigned to honor the Imagine peacefest at Solace Island with his presence on Sunday evening.

During his unusually lengthy visit the laird took the time to inspect a piece of installation art that had been partly sponsored by The Bock McMillan Art Foundation (a part of the BMcM Corporation). The installation was made by Kandinsky Beaumont, hostess of the event, and met with the highest approval of the laird.

The peacefest was a great success with entertainment by the singer and songwriter POL Arida and the fabulous group DRUM.

All and sundry of the existing art mob in SecondLife passed through the party during the many hours that the laird was there, but he most appreciated the presence of his beloved sister Millimina Salamander whom he had not met with in a long while.