Archive for July 2013

211

Galactic Beauty


Here is my inspiration of for my Storybook Saturday! I've always loved the Twi'lek race of the Star Wars lore. Return of the Jedi is the first memory I have of seeing a movie in the movie theater, and even though I was really young, I think the scene of Oola and Jabba always left an impression on my child's brain. Here's some Twi'lek info from the 'official' Wookiepedia:

Twi'leks (pronounced /'twilÉ›k/), sometimes referred to disparagingly as"Tail-heads", were an omnivorous humanoid species originating from the planet Ryloth. They tended to eat cultivated molds, fungi, and rycritmeat. Their distinctive features included colorful skin, which varied in pigment from individual to individual, and a pair of shapely prehensile tentacles that grew from the base of their skulls. The tentacles, called "brain-tails", "lekku", "tchun-tchin", or "head-tails" were advanced organs used for communication and cognitive functions. Twi'leks possessed a fairly standard humanoid vocal structure and were capable of learning most alien languages; however, they usually preferred their native language of Ryl, which incorporated subtle movement of the lekku. When they wished, they could even communicate in complete secrecy using their versatile brain-tails. Twi'lek females were often used as slaves or dancers because of their beauty.

Did you know that there's a new Star Wars SIM opening? I didn't! It's called New Alderaan & Bakura. I'm told from one of the SIM owners that the official opening of the city 'New Alderaan' opens on this coming Tuesday, but the capital 'Bakura' is still under construction. There are many faction groups to join - everything from the galactic army to the seedy doings of the cantinas. If you want to look around, here is your taxi.

Credits:
Outfit:    Graves - G357
Lekku:    DD - Black Leather Lekku Print 3 (Marketplace Only)
Skin:    [PF] Pink Fuel - Elphaba
Eyes:    IKON - Eternal Eyes (Black).
Lashes:    Redgrave - Corner Painting 
Nails:    Izzie's - Metallic gradient nails
Feet:    [Gos] Arched feet
Lips:    Glamorize - Lumina Lips (Blood red)
Pose:      E.Ink - Cutie <3  






210

Storybook Saturday 
A SL blogger & photographer challenge



I have been so inspired lately by the many items and places I've seen in Second Life that I've decided to showcase a blogger challenge. At first I thought to keep it personal an within the confines of my own blog, but then decided that it might be a fun undertaking for some of you and so here it is!

Storybook Saturday is a weekly themed challenge devoted to all things fiction in Second Life. Be it fantasy, history, or science fiction. There are no rules for your photo save that it must fit in with the theme. You can do a 'look book' photo, do a landscape, or just do an image that tells a story about your avatar in the particular theme.  Each theme is rotated every Saturday, beginning with today.

Saturday July 27th, 2013
The Galactic Empire

Saturday August 3rd, 2013
The Medieval Court




209

Love Donna Flora Raqs!


As I was setting up my own merchandise for the Love Donna Flora! event, the first cart I passed was Bellydance Goddess' display for a saidi dress (pronounced sah-ee-dee.) For a moment I was floored and unsure of what I was seeing. A saidi dress? But that's what it was - or described as. To be honest, it doesn't look anything like a saidi dress, but more like a beledi costume....okay, sorry. I'm running off with my thoughts and probably you have no idea what I am rambling about.

The thing is I almost fainted because I was so excited to see it! The dress is a full-perm template gown with some custom attachments, but throw the name saidi or beledi on it and I can't give my money away fast enough. Many of you know - and some of you don't - that I am a (for now) retired bellydancer in real life. Retired because I developed severe asthma while living in a house that was infested with toxic mold for the past two and a half years (I finally moved recently. What a mess that situation was.) My dance, my troupe, my classes, my weekends away to various intensives fell into life's waiting bin. Dance was my passion for a very long time and not having it in my life while getting the asthma under control (it's getting there) was very disheartening for me.

Most bellydancers specialize in a particular style and I am no different. The folklore styles really called to some ancient place in my soul and I loved performing beledi, saidi, sha'abi, zaar...the list is pretty long, really. Seeing this glamorized version of Eyptian folklore gives me great joy.

That's one of the things I love about Second Life: you can be anything you want to be. This includes being a bellydancer, which you can do at Bellydance Oasis, where you'll find a store dedicated to costuming and many venues to socialize and dance with dance sisters from all over the world. It's a very popular place and I've always enjoyed dancing there when I just wanted to dance but could not in real life.

Credits:
Dress Ensemble:    .:BG:. Bellydance Goddess - Saidi Gown New!~Love Donna Flora!
Hair:    .:EMO-tions:. - Mystery (Intensive Red style A) New!~Hair Fair 2013
Hands/Feet:    SLink
Eyes:    IKON - Ascension eyes (Nymph)
Skin:    League - Jen (Natural Medium)
Pose:    HENMATIONS - Saidi Dance Pack



This is a good example of modern Saidi dance (or raqs assaya.)
The cane this dancer ues is a mockery of the canes men use in the
men's dance. This dance form originates from the nomadic tribes of
upper Egypt. Moves and music are still prominent in sha'abi, sha'abi
being everyone's dance. Pop music is often called sha'abi. 


This is me dancing saidi in early 2011
(Yes, I had a foot injury there.)




208

Formal Flowers


This is actually a preview post for the Love Donna Flora! event that I'm honored to be participating in. In case you have not heard the news, Squinternet Larnia, second life designer of the fashionable 'Donna Flora' bran, is suffering from severe bone cancer. Casja Lilliehook, a long time fashionista of Second Life, has been gracious enough to rally up support from the grid to launch the charity event Love Donna Flora. It never fails to touch me on how much everyone in the design and blog community care about each other. As soon as Casja passed out the idea so many of us bit at the chance to offer services - everything from blogging and publicity to offering up land.

The Love Donna Flora! event is hosting a huge array of designers, everything from poses to couture evening wear. One of my favorite pieces comes from long-time designer Amacci. This slick vintage hair comes with a crown of color-changing orchids via a HUD. It's just beautiful and very unique. Proceeds from this hair are 100%. Love Donna Flora! opens tomorrow, so pocket away some lindens. Even if you do not wish to buy anything, donation boxes are set up around the (beautiful) SIM. Every little linden counts. Every. Single.

Credits:
Hair and Orchids:    Amacci - Daphne (Warm Red) New!~Love Donna Flora!
Makeup:    Izzie's - Harlow Natural (Smokey)
Lipstick:    [PF]Pink Fuel - Deep Red
Eyes:    Ikon - Eternal Eyes (Pool)
Lashes:    Redgrave - Corner painted
Skin:    League - Jen (Natural Medium)

207

See His Ship a' Sailin'


"...if I ever sail from olde Ireland, 
you'll mind that I not leave you behind."

Great news! FATEwear designer and ColdLogic collaborator Damien Fate has branched out into something very exciting - Role Play! I talk about Role Play often on my blog because I am a roleplayer in SL. I am very excited about this next project from Damien Fate. The dress I am wearing now is called the 'Wende' dress. It comes in a variety of colors as well as my favorite color - Fatpack. The great thing about this gown is that it comes in three parts. The sleeves are optional,the bodice is it's own piece as well as the skirt. This means you can swap out skirts and bodies in order to make a unique look. 

I've been seeing so much lovely fantasy and RP things on the grid lately that I'm almost tempted to do a blogger challenge. Maybe Storybook Saturday?

I needed to find a place to take my blog picture here. I was going to go atypical medieval, but as I was wandering around Maxwell Graf's Rustica, I saw the amazing mesh ships in the backdrop from where I stood. Instantly I was reminded of the song 'Kellswater', with my favorite rendition being sung by Loreena McKennitt.




FATEplay's doors open July 24th! 

Credits:
Dress:    FATEplay - Wende (Sapphire bodice and skirt, V2 sleeves) New! 
Hair:    Alice Project - Willow [Low] (HUD color)
Eyes:    Slink mesh eyelids
Hands:    Slink 
Feet:    Slink
Pose:    Self
Skin:    League - Jen (Fair medium)

206

Wild Thing


Liaison Collaborative is hands down my favorite event team in Second Life. The designer teams that work on The Boutique, The Garden, and Poser Pavilion have something for everyone, each round going with a different theme. The Boutique recently unveiled the Safari collection with top notch clothing, accessories, and skins to excite any shopper (that includes the men, too!)

Make sure you stop by and check out this fantastic round featuring fantastic designs from some of the grid's amazing talent.

Credits:
Top:    Baiastice - Iman (Black) New!~The Boutique
Skirt:    Baiastice - Lima Skirt (Red croc w/silver belt) New!~The Boutique
Jewelry:    Cae - Safari New!~The Boutique
Hair:    LoQ - Chianti (Hypnotic Red) New!~2013 Hair Fair
Eyes:    IKON - Ardent Eyes (Clarity)
Cosmetics:    Izzie's
Hands:    SLink
Skin:    League - Jen (Medium Natural)
Pose:    Picture This! Poses

205

I Can Hear the Cicadas


Do you know what a cicada is? For a very brief time in my life, my mother moved my sister and I to Oklahoma where I first experienced the lazy summertime hum of cicadas, only we called them jar flies. Mostly because as children we liked to capture the docile bugs and put them in jars and keep them as very part-time pets. Jar flies sort of fascinated me because they were both ugly and adorable at the same time. What's also unique about them is that they shed their exoskeletons and leave behind perfect replicas of themselves which we loved to find in tree limbs and hold/examine them.

They have a very distinct sound that they make. It's a loud chorus of humming and the sound seems to just go along with the summertime heat. You know you're in late summer when the long days finally give over into evening and the sun goes down with the drowning choir of cicadas. I was reminded of this as I walked along Hazardous.


In case you've been under a rock, the grid is all about hair right now. Truth released five new beauties just as Hair Fair 2013 opened it's doors to the public. I'm wearing one of those new Truth's right now. It's called Chilali. It's super cute and way fun. If short hair is not your thing, there's a longer version called Mina.


Credits:
Top:    Secret Store - Elsa Ruffled Shirt (Green polka) New!~July Collabor88
Shorts:    Mon Tissu - Cuffed Denim Shorts (Dark rinse)
Hair:    Truth - Chilali (Red 02) New!
Hands & Feet:    SLink
Eyes:    IKON - Ardent Eyes (Clarity)
Skin:    League - Jen (Medium Natural)
Pose:    [1] Picture This! Poses - Take a Lean [2] Picture This! Poses - Deux Models


204

1000 Years



Credits:
Dress:    Baiastice - Arya Dress (Black) New!~FaMeshed
Hair:    Truth - Virginie (Cranberry)
Eyes:    IKON - Eternal Eyes (Pool)
Hands:    SLink
Skin:    League - Jen (Fair Natural)
Pose:    Self


203

Meadows of Heaven


I close my eyes; the lantern dies
The scent of awakening, wild honey and dew.
Childhood games, woods and lakes
Streams of silver, toys of olden days.

Flowers of wonder and the hidden treasures 
In the meadow of life; my acre of Heaven...


I saw this SIM called The Trace on the Destination Guide. I liked the lonely hill side on the picture so I decided to check it out. It delivers all that says and then some. If you enjoy beautiful gardens in Second Life and are looking for a new place to bring your camera, The Trace might be a good place to keep in your landmark folder.



Credits:
Dress:    Zaara - Ritika Maxi Dress (Sunshine)
Hair:    [Lelutka] - Jasmine (Jessica)
Hands/Feet:    SLink 
Eyes:    IKON - Eternal Eyes (Pool)
Skin:    League - Jen (Fair Olive)
Top Pose:    iBang Poses - Carefree

202

Sahara Gold


It's the first of the month, which means turnover on a few noteworthy events (like faMESHed!) and new releases by some of our favorite designers. For many fans of IKON eyes, it's gift week! In case you live in a box, are starting on your Second Life journey, or have an alt that needs some updating, IKON always delivers an exciting group gift to loyal members by offering a free product for the first week of each month. The group is free to join and you can pick up these lovely 'Sahara' gold eyes until July 7th.

I'm sort of loving the bold lines outlining my picture. I stumbled into the easiest technique of doing it while adding grain to an earlier picture. It's so stupidly easy, but I think it looks kind of cool. Stay tuned on SL Blogger Support for a tutorial.


Credits:
Earrings:    MG Maxi Gossamer - Shell Earrings
Hair:    Truth - Cece (Cranberry)
Hair Flower:     Truth - Kalia Flower (From the Kalia hair product)
Eyes:    IKON - Ascension Eyes (Sahara) July Group Gift!
Hands:    SLink
Nail colour:    blackLiquid Nails (Black Pearl)
Skin:    Izzie's - Harlow (Natural)
Pose:   Olive Juice - Keep Smilin'

201

Yellow is the Color of Joy


I love doing portrait shots because it really captures the details of the face, lending personality and realism (without being too real) to the avatar. It also shows off the beauty of skin and I love changing skin simply because it drastically changes the appearance of one's avatar without changing the shape. While in my 'day to day' SL I wear my League skin, photos are fun and give leeway for playing with avatar appearance. I really love event skins for this reason. You get a fun skin with a dramatic look and usually they are more cheaply priced than a standard skin.

This skin I am wearing comes from Essences and is currently available at United Fashion Project. The default  brows on this skin are blonde. One of the things I love about Essence's skin are the brow cover ups located in the mainstore. I put this layer on and threw on my red eyebrows from Mynerva for this photograph.





Credits:
Hair:    Truth - Kerri #1 (Red 02) New!
Eyes:    IKON - Ascension Eyes (Evening)
Lashes:    ::BB:: BeetleBones Mesh Lashes V.01
Eyebrows:    ~Mynerva~ - Dark Red 02
Skin:    Essences - Tiara (Untouched Light Rose)~The United Fashion Project