Picture of the Day - 310

""Dragonfly"_005aw by Addison Summerwind

If you wish to see more of Addison's photography, please visit her Flickr photostream here.

Picture of the Day - 309

"Better to be a humble sinner than a self righteous saint" by Declan

If you wish to see more of Declan's photography, please visit his Flickr photostream here.

To the Queen of Our Hearts

Today we celebrate the rezday of Hare Majesteit Koningin BM, the absolute and undisputed ruler of The Netherlands in SecondLife, and the much, much, younger and much more beautiful dear cousin of the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm etc., etc.

One should never discuss the age of a lady, they are always timeless and ageless once they have passed there 18th birthday, this rule is even stricter when it comes to our nobility and royalty. Nonetheless they do have rezdays, even though they do not celebrate them.

Besides being the supreme ruler of The Netherlands in SecondLife, this spectacular woman is also the Queen of four - at least (unknown lovers are untold) - men's hearts.

The four of us join in congratulating our sweet, charming and amazingly patient Queen and wishing Hare Majesteit a happy and relaxing rezday!

With much love,
Kahvy & Garrett Smith
Tomais Ashdene & Bock McMillan

Chief Justice Roy Moore - The Game

"Smash six happy couples and Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore does a celebratory dance as the KKK skips into the courthouse."

This game comers to you via Joe Jervis and his amazing blog Joe. My. God.

Picture of the Day - 308

"Fly Away" by Harlow Heslop

If you wish to see more of Harlow's photography, please visit her Flickr photostream here.

Attention Opera Lovers!

During the coming week the Theater on the Hill will premier the third - and final act - of Richard Wagner's epic opera Die Walküre (The Valkyrie). This is the act that is many opera lovers favorit.

I am alas not at liberty to reveal the date of the semi-closed premier, however, after that the regular performances will commence from March 29th and onward.

In an exclusive interview Othon Weiland-Nootan revealed to Bock in SecondLife,
- "Bock,  even  opera  haters  will be  amazed! Nothing like this show has never been seen before  in  SecondLife."

ACT III: On the Valkyries' Rock, Brünnhilde's eight warrior sisters - who have gathered there briefly, bearing slain heroes to Valhalla - are surprised to see her enter with Sieglinde. When they hear she is fleeing Wotan's wrath, they are afraid to hide her. Sieglinde is numb with despair until Brünnhilde tells her she bears Siegmund's child. Eager to be saved, she receives the pieces of the sword from Brünnhilde and ecstatically thanks her rescuer as she rushes off into the forest to hide near Fafner's cave, a place safe from Wotan. When the god appears, he sentences Brünnhilde to become a mortal woman, silencing her sisters' objections by threatening to do the same to them. Left alone with her father, Brünnhilde pleads that in disobeying his orders she was really doing what he wished ("War es so schmählich"). Wotan will not relent: she must lie in sleep, booty for any man who finds her. But as his anger abates she asks the favor of being surrounded in sleep by a wall of fire that only the bravest hero can pierce. Both sense this hero must be the child that Sieglinde will bear. Sadly renouncing his daughter ("Leb' wohl"), Wotan kisses Brünnhilde's eyes with sleep and mortality before summoning Loge, the spirit of fire, to encircle the rock. As flames spring up, the departing Wotan invokes a spell forbidding the rock to anyone who fears his spear.

The actors
Brünnhilde: Oliver Elton
Wotan: Silvano Korobase
Sieglinde: Yanneck Docherty

Valkyries: Joshua Swords, Louie Bisiani, Rick Carson, Richardson Nootan-Weiland, Remi2000, Ronny Swords, Wolfhard Gelman Chaffe, WildSummer Destiny

The production

Produced and Directed by Immerdar Fredriksson

Scripting by Blaise Timtam

First Life Ring Machine designed by Robert LaPage for the Metropolitan Opera and adapted for SecondLife by Immerdar Fredriksson and Blaise Timtam

This production has been made possible in part by a generous grant from THE CHETZ R. SZONDI FOUNDATION

Executive Director Garth Raleigh

The recording

Brünnhilde: Birgit Nilsson
Wotan: George London
Sieglinde: Gre Brouwenstijn

Conductor: Erich Leinsdorf
The London Symphony Orchestra

Recorded 1961 by Decca Records

Firestorm: "Restore to Last Position Needs You!"

Jessica Lyon of The Firestorm team is asking for support from residents of SecondLife in trying to convince Linden Lab, the makers of SecondLife, not to block the feature "Restore to Last Position".

The Firestorm Team believes that if residents can supply "a well structured set of use cases that demonstrate clearly and concisely how useful and valuable this feature is to (us)" Linden Lab may be convinced of the features value and usefulness.

If you use this feature and would like to see it stick around please leave a comment on this post Firestorm: 'Restore to last Position' needs you!, detailing how you use it and why it is valuable to you.

Please note Jessica's sage advice: "Kicking, screaming and calling foul will not save this feature, nor will criticizing LL or anyone else for not understanding the feature. In fact actions like that will speed up its demise."

Hurry hurry, because the post has been up a week on Monday!

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As readers of my blog most certainly should know I am a huge fan of this feature, it has doubtlessly saved me from much agony and guilt and many, several nervous breakdowns and many hours of redoing things because of my inability to sometimes do several things at the same time, I delete stuff if I am distracted. Please, never ask me to chew gum and walk down stairs at the same time!

The latest major incident when I used the feature is described in this blog post,Bock in SecondLife: 'Thank You, Phoenix Firestorm Team!'.

For an interesting analysis, please go to Inara Pey's blog post: Living in a Modemworld: Firestorm seek feedback on “restore to last position” and the other links Inara provides there.