Love, Respect & Courage

In honor of Valentines Day I would like to remind myself and everyone else that love, respect and courage have accomplished most of the things we are proud of in the history of mankind. They do not always conquer all bad things or situations, but even then they help us through the bad experiences.

Hate, disrespect and cowardice on the other hand has never given us anything worthwhile.

Reflections on a Monday

Sunday was a hectic day for me. My feelings were all over the place, swinging from sorrow to happiness and then back and forth a few times. All in all it was a good day though.

Can one actually celebrate a wedding anniversary if the spouse is dead? That was one of the things on my mind early in the day, but I soon decided that "Hell yes, sure I can" because it was one of my happiest days in SecondLife. "Honi soit qui mal y pense" (which in Bockese directly translates into "Bugger those evil minded bastards who think ill thereof")

Then I was reached by the news of Whitney Houston´s death at an early age in tragic circumstances. The first song that came to my mind was "I Will Always Love You" from the film where she starred against Kevin Costner, "The Bodyguard". Not very original I know but...

The last Coffee and Pajamas Jazz Show with Elfay at Circe´s Sunset Jazz Club brought laughter and sad and happy memories. That club and that show and Circe, Elfay, Diana, Margo and Carol, Mari and Ex and all the other regulars there, meant a lot for me during a difficult time. I cannot even begin to explain how important it was for me to have that place to go to every Saturday (and later Sunday). It was a sad parting of sorts but still not because they will all remain in SecondLife and hopefully we will all keep in touch.

The Sunday ended on a very happy and festive note with the birthday bash of my buddy Ziggy Starsmith and his studelicious man Holter. All the gay hunks of SecondLife where there and I should think some more came after I left at midnight (my time) to catch some sleep before work today.

In between the show and the party I had good conversations with my sister Millimina, my brother in-laws Dejerrity and Andrey...hmmm sorry I mean D R E Y. My avatars soul was after further investigations proven to be in mortal peril and was finally saved. 

But more about the last show, the birthday bash and the tests and the scary treatments I had to undergo to save my soul in future posts. I need to gather more energy for that.

Ohh I will also reveal the identity of "my vampire", the most beautiful vampire that has ever existed, including that silly Tom Cruise´s rendition.

Hostile Takeover Bid for Apple Inc?

The financial markets all over the world today went rampant with rumors that the SecondLife-based BMcM Corporation may be launching a hostile takeover bid for Apple Inc. This news followed the recent news that Apple Inc is now worth more than Microsoft and Google combined or the GDP of the Kingdom of Sweden for one year.

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls and filthy rich owner of BMcM, smiled enigmatically and declined to comment on this rumor when he was confronted in the company of a stunningly beautiful man in a sordid backstreet bar in the ill-reputed  Zindra Region.

Prince Wild Zepp, the official spokesman for the McMillan household, only snorted "Ridiculous!" and then turned his back to this reporter and refused to comment further.

This "tactic of silence" from the McMillan household is well known from similar business deals in the past. We will of course keep you updated as this story as it evolves.

(...and if you did not guess it already, it´s a joke...)

Ziggy´s & Holter´s Birthday Bash

My buddy Ziggy Starsmith and the man in his second life Holter are celebrating their first life birthdays today Sunday February 12, 2012, 2 PM SLT with a big bash.

EVERYONE IS INVITED! (SLurl) (Yup, you are correct of course they live on the sim named "Pure")

For late updates on this invitation please check Ziggy´s blog Ziggy On The Edge Of Second Life (url)

Rest In Peace, Whitney

"God gave me a voice to sing with, and when you have that, what other gimmick is there?"

Whitney Elizabeth Houston 

August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012

My Second Home is Closing

It is with heartrending sadness I keep rereading this note card from my amazing friend Circe Broom entitled "Closing Notice". I had somehow missed it in the onslaught of messages that meet you when you log in to SecondLife but my reliable friend Diana Gilderoy forwarded it to me.

Circe Broom

"It is with profound regret that I must announce the closing of my Laurel Arts Isle venues (Sunset Jazz Club, Memphis Pavilion, Luxor Stage, Cairo Theater, and Sanctuary), which will take place on February 20, 2012. 

I have run venues since 2004, but can no longer sustain the cost of maintaining the sim. I thank you all for your visits over the years. I am grateful for all the wonderful music and poetry that has taken place in my venues. It is hard to let go, but I simply must. 

Thank you. I will never forget the wonderful times we've had. Join us during these last weeks of our existence, take pics, post them, send them to me, whatever - so that we can remember Laurel Arts for another 8 years! 

I want to thank those of you who have donated at the venues, helping to keep the Laurel Arts venues running this long. Due to the recession and a seeming paradigm shift in Second Life, not many people deem it necessary to support entertainment in SL, causing many venues to close down. Sadly, my venues now join those who have come to this bitter end. 

The final shows on Laurel Arts Isle will be held on Sunday, February 19, 2012. 

Special thanks go to my assistant, Angelstar3 Stonewall, and my partner, Vincent Merricks, for their staunch support, especially during my illness and absence. 

The Circe's Circle of Sounds group, which is over 4,000 members strong, will remain intact, and artists/poets can use it to announce their shows anywhere after February 20. 

Warmest regards, Circe Broom"

I have been a regular patron at the Laurel Arts sim during the last four years of my existence in SecondLife. In the beginning with Ars and later alone. We especially made it a habit to visit there for Elfay Pinkdot´s "Coffee and Pajamas Jazz Show". I have met countless of sweet, wonderful and supportive friends there who have become dear to me.

Today Sunday 12, 2012, 10 AM - 12 PM SLT, Elfay will bring us the last Coffee and Pajamas at Circe´s Sunset Jazz Club. So dig out your PJ´s from your overloaded Inventories and

BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!

My Wedding Anniversary

Soon after I had logged into SecondLife on February 12, 2010, my beautiful Ars also logged in.

After we had said our hellos, he asked me to check my email. When I asked why, he told me "Just check it now, Bock!"

As I opened the mail a message popped up from SecondLife which read:

"Dear Bock McMillan,

You have received a Second Life partner proposal from Ars Northmead.

Please visit the link below to view the proposal:

https://secure-web39.secondlife.com/my/account/partners.php

This proposal will expire on Friday, February 19, 2010."

I was totally elated and hurried to go to the SecondLife website to accept the proposal. When I have done that I got the message "Congratulations Bock McMillan you have now entered into a partnership with Ars Northmead!"

I was both laughing and crying with joy when I came back to my Ars, because this had been a very surprising move on his part after more than two years together. Both of us had often declared a rather skeptical and dim view on SecondLife partnerships, after seeing some acquaintances going through a series of partnerships that never lasted for long. However, we both believed that with our long past together we would do a better job of it so we spent a very happy day together.

Not too long after this Ars went missing for a few days. I could not reach him either by e-mail or any of his phones. Those days were awful and I was very worried for him. When I finally got hold of him again it turned out that Ars´s father had found him in a very poor and weakened state and had taken him to the parents house so they could look after him.

Ars still had a fever and sounded very weak when I talked with him, but he told me he was going to the hospital for a check-up the next day. At the same time I talked with Ars sisters and they promised to keep me updated on Ars condition. 

The medical examination the next day showed that Ars had double pneumonia and was in a terribly weak state so the doctors admitted him for further care and treatment. Although the doctors were hopeful in the beginning this changed when complications set in and Ars passed away on March 12, 2010, exactly one month after we had been partnered.

About a fortnight after Ars had passed away I was asked (for the first time), "Do you think Ars married you because he knew he was going to die?" The question really surprised me because it hadn't even crossed my mind and was blurted out by someone not close to either of us. I just told the person "No! Please don´t talk to me ever again." 

However the question made me think if that could be the case. The following occasions I was asked the same question - in kinder ways and by people who mattered - I was better prepared. 

I have told those who asked, that I honestly do not believe that Ars knew he was even sick, let alone would be dead soon, when he proposed to me. After a few months of pain and agony due to a broken femur things had actually just started looking up for him again. He had signed up for a gym to get back in shape and we had also begun discussing some changes on the sim. At the time of the proposal Ars was happier again. More than anything I felt like I had passed some sort of test, by sticking with him and supporting him through the bad time that he had just gone through. 

We were happy together and no one will ever convince me of anything else. This was, is and will always remain a happy day for me!

The pictures of Ars in this post were taken in December 2009 by Kent Hutchinson of KH Photography.