A Day in the Life of an Overseer

Exhibit A. No harness or safety line used while working on a unprotected place.

 As you all may know, I am at the moment highly involved in the project of getting my new home at Southern Charm built and decorated.

For the menial and the creative work I have enlisted the services of a friend of mine, Butch Diavolo, who is a builder/interior decorator all rolled up into one hot and hunky avatar. The man is actually brilliant at everything he does, but being brilliant does not mean he is an infallible god, no way! As every man he sometimes makes mistakes - huge boo boos in fact!

Exhibit B. Working in an unsafe position

Exhibit C. No shoes worn on building site

Being overseer of the work force at the building site, my most important duty is to see to it that the regulations surrounding workers safety are adhered to and that the builder/interior decorator gets through this project alive and without permanent mutilation or severe injuries. It is by no means an easy thing to try to steer a renegade Dutch "artiste" (which is how he - for some reason beyond me - prefers to refer to himself, with the French pronunciation no less) to a safe and steady working schedule without unnecessary risks involved.

"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do", so I try to manage the rebellious Butch, with some small success so far. I cannot even get him to wear shoes at the building site, in spite of the fact that he has already stepped on several nails and almost had to have his right foot amputated yesterday.

Keeping the work force happy

But I will persevere and hopefully we will soon see the end of this project with Butch still alive. Meanwhile I will do my best to keep the laborers safe and happy.

The New Residence

The pictures above show the new abode of the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls and supreme sovereign of The Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment with Outer Territories.

Although the house is large it reportedly only has one bedroom, but as the laird is supposed to have told his nephew Matt McMillan "it can host an orgy of 60 avatars and still has room enough for all to roll about in".

Ziggy On The Firestorm Viewer Release

Ziggy Starsmith, the renowned straight talker and adventurer in SecondLife whom I am also proud to call my friend and son in-law, has kindly tested the latest Firestorm Viewer 4.4.1 (34164) that was released today for our convenience.

Read about his findings and recommendations at Ziggy And Guyke On The Edge Of Second Life; Test Driving The Brand, New Firestorm 4.4.1.34164 Viewer Release....

Important Victories for Gay Rights in the U.S.A.

Two important cases were decided today by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).

The first case concerned the constitutionality of the Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was an American federal law, enacted in 1996, that required that the federal state should only give recognition to opposite-sex marriages in the United States and also restricted federal marriage benefits to opposite-sex marriages.

The second case concerned the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections. The measure added a new provision, to the California Constitution, which provides that "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The United States District Court Judge Vaughn Walker overturned Proposition 8 on August 4, 2010, ruling that it violated both the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the United States Constitution. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel later affirmed the decision that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional.

Through the decisions delivered by SCOTUS today
1, the Defence Of Marriage Act (DOMA) was struck down as being unconstitutional by a 5-4 majority and
2. in the the Proposition 8 case the ruling was, by a 5-4 majority, that supporters of the measure did not have legal standing (did not have the right) to appeal the lower court's ruling, thereby leaving the earlier decision that the measure was unconstitutional standing and clearing the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California.

HALLELUJA!!! 

Men At Work

I am ordering my contractor about what to do, I should just have shut up
because he knew better than I what needed to be done and how to go about it.
Butch is an amazing man with excellent taste -  and BRILLIANT in everything he does.

How a builder can turn up to work without shoes is beyond me...
but the man was working brilliantly so I said nothing about it!

After having gotten the house in place, we decided to rest a little

..and then a little more.... Well we would have been ready
an hour or so earlier if I had not screwed a few things up.

A Clean Slate

After due consideration the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls and supreme sovereign of The Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment with Outer Territories, decided that instead of redecorating only two rooms of his palatial mansion a more drastic move was needed.

A new villa was purchased and the demolition team has been working hard during the night. The result of their labor and efforts can be seen in the pictures above.

The old house has been completely and utterly demolished and the building site now waits for the consultant Butch Diavolo to wake up from his - much needed -beauty sleep and come to head the building team in its work. Further reports should be expected soon.

What Friends Are For

I was given this picture by Parvin, a warrior of Gor, that I met and talked with during the last Second Pride festival.

The picture shows Parvin eating dust after he has been defeated by Timmy, a gladiator from Rome with the bulkiest body I have yet seen, in one of the jousts between the warriors of Gor and the gladiators of Rome. The jousting was a new and interesting element introduced at this years festival. According to Parvin his dear and loving friends had taken the picture to rub his nose in the defeat. And isn't that exactly what friends are for?

It reminded me that it is said that in ancient Rome: as a Roman general was parading through the streets during a victory triumph, standing behind him was his slave, tasked with reminding the general that, although at his peak today, tomorrow he could fall, or — more likely — be brought down. The servant is thought to have conveyed this with the warning, "Memento mori" (Remember that you will die!).

Friends are there to support us, encourage us, comfort us, care for us and love us, but also to cut us down to size and remind us of who we are if and when we risk forgetting it.