EPIC is planning a fashion event weekend to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation. The date is not yet set. To quote an announcement:
We all know how hard it is to find a good, sexy outfit for that stage show, or that friends party. or even for some of us how hard it is to match tops with outfits and so forth. The idea is that we can give light to the corners of the busty fashion world, promote boobies in SL and maybe create not only revenue for those creators, but maybe bring some new ideas to the table, meet some of your favorite creators, or even just shed some light on the busty side of Second Life.
During the event, they will take donations for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
Clothing makers and prim breast makers wishing to help should IM Annie Carnell or Tanya Lalonde.
I was very happy yesterday to see a sign at a branch store of P.S. Design, a creator of clothing that works with Implant Nation prim breasts--they are now making clothing that can be worn with Sensations products, and have clothing to accompany Icon Allen's prim breasts under development.
This is a very welcome move, and I look forward to seeing the results.
Some people don't much care for the default Ubuntu color scheme, which leans towards the orange and brown.
If you share that opinion, you might wish to look into MoonOS, which is based on Ubuntu, uses Enlightenment DR17 and LXDE so that it looks very good even on modest hardware, and has a color scheme designed by a very talented artist. It's so lovely I'm giving serious thought to trying it out.
...do take a look at Mooching with Marnix, a blog from Marnix Malifozik, a relatively new SL resident I had the pleasure of meeting recently.
It's far too easy to forget what it's like to be new to something, and I appreciate the chance not only to see SL through other eyes, but through new eyes once again. Thank you, Marnix.
You may well already know about the fashion blog SLEX and the City, but I just happened across it last night. It's worth visiting just to see the photography; it's very nicely done.
For practical purposes, the study of logic starts with Aristotle--if only because his writings have largely survived.
Logic has to do with how one makes valid inferences, i.e. if I know that some things are true, what can I know must also be true? A logical system consists of a set of postulates and a set of inference rules that determine what are valid inferences in that system.
Aristotle came up with what we call "syllogisms", schemata of valid inferences, such as "if all X are Y and all Y are Z, then all X are Z". The premises are the if part, and the conclusion is the then part. Under Aristotelian logic, if you know two premises of the given form (where you consistently replace the X, Y, and Z with classes of things), then you can infer the conclusion (again, replacing the variables consistently). For example, "If all men are mammals and all mammals are animals, then all men are animals."
Oh, yes... that "consistency" bit also forbids equivocation, i.e. using a word in two different ways. "Animal" not only means "one of those things that aren't vegetable or mineral," but is sometimes used to mean a beast or savage ("You animal!"); the consistency rule forbids switching meanings in midstream.
That's pretty much where things stood, aside from the work of the scholastics (who did things like invent mnemonics for the valid syllogisms, using vowels to represent the forms of the premises and conclusion), until the 19th century and the development of mathematical or symbolic logic.
The whole point about logical fallacies is that one cannot make valid inferences from them. Those who use them either don't know any better or do know better and are attempting to deceive; in either case, the supposed conclusion is suspect. (Not necessarily false, but suspect, since it doesn't follow from the premises.) You'll have to decide for yourself which of the two (ignorance or dishonesty) applies in any given case.
I actually went out to see a movie today... and in the seemingly endless stream of public service announcements, warnings to turn off cell phones, pagers, and so forth, and trailers for upcoming features was one for Monsters vs. Aliens, a coming CGI animation:
I was looking around in Mocha, a lovely place, wintry in spots (eek! Actually going to a cold place in SL during RL winter?!) that I saw mentioned in the excellent blog Living with the me..., when I wandered into Lime and saw a magnificent golden statue of the Buddha:
At first I thought it was one huge sculpted prim, but a closer look made me wonder--it looked almost like a contour map, or as if it were carved from golden-hued wood so that you could see where the carving crossed from one ring of the original tree to another. Looking at it from more to the side emphasized the effect:
and finally, a view directly from the side showed the true structure, and I gasped:
The Buddha was built up from a series of slices! How different from the stylized Buddha at the Varosha temple!
I noticed the latest post at Cheyenne's wonderful blog--it's her thousandth post! Hmmm, I wondered, how many entries have I posted here? blogger counts the number posted each year, so I added up the numbers from 2006 (OMG, has it been that long?) to this year, and got the result 666! (Not 666 factorial, 666--eek! 666 factorial posts would require a lot of typing.)
My last post, about the Crystal Kingdom, was the post of the beast, so to speak!
Sigh... just goes to show how firm a hold superstitions have on us, despite our best efforts.
This year, Mardi Gras is next Tuesday as I write, February 24th. If there's any clothing at all in SL that reminds me of Mardi Gras, it's the magnificent, ornate, richly colored and detailed clothing available at the Crystal Queendom.
I am very happy to report that upstairs from the Crystal Queendom, there is now the Crystal Kingdom, so that men now have access to outfits just as regal, vivid, and detailed. It's not been around as long, so there aren't as many outfits to choose from, but I have no doubt that will change--and what's there is utterly breathtaking.
Back when I started in Second Life (Oh, dear... I've turned into my parents with tales of "back when..."), if you wished to express your opinion, you used the facilities that existed for First Life as well: Blogger, Wordpress, etc.
Now there are social web sites for SL residents, for example Snapzilla, SLProfiles, and Second Avatar--but if you've spent time and effort developing a name and audience elsewhere, is it wise to divide your attention?
Well, Second Avatar has some enticement for residents to post photos and make blog entries: they offer to pay you for it.
I have put too much into this blog to abandon it, and the limits Second Avatar puts on image size are much stricter than Blogger or flickr. OTOH, I do feel a bit guilty about having set up an account at Second Avatar and having let it sit for so long, so I will start posting a little bit there.
UPDATE: You're absolutely right, Anonymous. You can find my Second Avatar page here.
UPDATE: This just isn't my day. The above link is only accessible to those who have a Second Avatar account and are logged in. I'm still trying to figure out what link I can give that the general public can access without having to sign up. Right now I'm not sure whether there is one.
UPDATE: The Web Site Formerly Known As SLProfiles is now ProfileSLive.
"...for the first time/I kissed a Linden/and I may do it again..."
Apologies to Jill Sobule, and it was a hug, really, but it was a wonderful start to Valentine's Day to visit Isle of View [pause to remember the great Jimmie Spheeris].
It's a charming place, all hearts and flowers and a giant Cupid statue at the center:
People were gathered there... many of the Mentors and volunteers who do so much for SL--and suddenly, there was Cupid Linden! There were "Hug a Volunteer" and "Hug a Linden" signs and poseballs, and I couldn't resist.
I met many wonderful people, and a wonderful bear and cheerfully ravenous little alligator riding a pink, red, and white snail carrying a sign whose text I should have written down, but which I think said "Send more tourists--they're delicious!" Michael Flatley should watch out; the little 'gator was quite the Irish stepdancer!
I know what it is to hate the coming of Valentine's Day because it rubs one's nose in one's lack of romance... but I wish you all a wonderful day.
With the erratic hours I've been keeping on SL, I've not kept up with Victorian fashion. It was a pleasure, therefore, to receive a notecard with a landmark for Chemical Kisses, and to visit and see the many exquisite dresses to be found there. If you love such clothing, do investigate.
SL vendors are responding to the tragic fires in Australia. I have seen announcements from Long Awkward Pose and from >TRUTH<, and I expect there will be others. Do check them out, as well as the official Red Cross site.
UPDATE: Hamlet Au has a good article with a pointer to a more complete list of vendors selling items with proceeds going to benefit fire victims.
Say what one will about how the system of patent and copyright has been corrupted and abused, the original intent was good: "to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." (Emphasis on "for limited times", though copyright owners seem to be able to buy laws to endlessly extend those limited times.)
We don't have that in SL, nor do we seem to have the culture of science or scholarly fields, where people publish their results (or perish, in the sense of not getting credit, as Tartaglia learned the hard way) and build on what others have done. Instead, it appears that SL creators treat their discoveries as trade secrets, and I fear that slows progress. Even Isaac Newton, inventor (along with, but independently of, Leibniz) of the integral and differential calculus, and the laws of motion, characterized his work as possible because he stood on the shoulders of giants.
I've been distracted; I had totally forgotten about National Wear Red Day! For more info, follow the link, and also see the Go Red for Women web site. Get informed and take care of yourself and those you care about.
So... in honor of Wear Red Day, here I am in the Minoan Empire wearing the lovely RFyre Ondami crimson and gold outfit inspired by the famous "Snake Goddess" figurine.
Google Analytics shows that viewership spiked yesterday: seventy-four views after a long winter doldrums (or is that just one doldrum?). I haven't been on SL much lately, and hence haven't written all that much, and of course, everyone's occupied with other things over Christmas and New Year's Day.
I have to suspect one possible cause: that article from a year ago that Sorcha (/me waves... "Hi, Sorcha!" *hugs*) commented on. In it, I did some wordplay on Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey"... and it turns out that has been done a bit more thoroughly by a group calling itself Minnesotans for Global Warming. They posted a YouTube video with their parody, "Two Below Honey"... which was promptly taken down after a complaint from Van Morrison and Exile Productions.
So, "two below honey" turns up as number two on the list of search terms taking people to this blog. Sorry, folks. What you seek isn't here, though I hope you find some diversion here... and alas, Van the Man has seen fit to cause it to be unavailable.
For someone who says she loves comments, I don't seem to notice some of them. I've mentioned this before, but this has really driven it home to me: a wonderful, wonderful young woman who I hadn't heard from in some time commented on a post I made in January 2007. I first saw it today. (Dear Sorcha, thank you, and I am so, so sorry! Dear Reader, don't miss her blog, Third Life; it's a joy to read.)
I can get emailed posted comments--if I individually ask for them for each post. (If you're reading this, Blogger people, this is one place where you can learn from LiveJournal! At least give me, the blog "owner", the option of asking to be emailed all posted comments...) Sigh.
My friend JanBruce Zepedzki came by and wanted to see "Supersize Me" in effect and asked me to take a picture, so here's a shot for comparison. Ms. Zepedzki is unusual among SL residents in that her avatar height is fairly close to the actual average height of American women (5'4"), and I have on heels and a hat that adds somewhat to the effect.
I'm happy to say that Selsey Seelowe is working to improve the poses and walk, so it will only get better. (And I'll adjust pants lengths as well; that's already problematic for those with very long legs, and the stretch makes it more so.)
I was talking with Cheyenne and Sweetie when they were adding still more flora to Whimsy, and they wanted to see the "Supersize Me!" AO. I tried it without the shape--at least my hair and shoes would still fit--and it wasn't bad. I'm fine with being really slender, just not anorexic.
Aside from the walk and some funky standing poses, it was fun. Something about the way it's done fakes out the physics engine; had I officially been twelve feet tall, I shouldn't be able to get in the door of my home, but I was able to. I was able to wear the edited 3.5 meter version of Goldie Locks' "Jordan" hair without having hair underground.
Sweetie took a picture of us (I will have to go back to check whether the "Earth Ro-Man" of the infamous movie Robot Monster, in which the evil aliens were guys in gorilla suits with deep sea diving helmets, was in the photo); I'll ask if it's OK to put it here. In the meantime, here's a photo I took later on by the entrance to my place so you can get an idea of scale.
