SL Lunchtime Poll Results: SL5B

Meat 'N Greet: Mopsa Soon

*Favorite Color:

green

*SL Rezzday:

12/7/06

*Favorite animal and why?

I've got a crazy fascination with birds of prey. (I know you said animal and I come back with bird. But its a cool bird.) The peregrine falcon is probably my favorite. They are travelers. Survivors. Wanderers. Powerful. Fast. Cunning. They mate for life and take care of their own. At all costs. That sort of resonates with me.

*What factors did you take into consideration when creating your Av?

I took into consideration that my friend Tara Tagore (of Melino Style) believed my (former) av looked like shit. She taunted me religiously until I let her give me a makeover. I took her creative direction a bit further. I wanted an edge. I didn't want to be your typical muscleheaded av. But I also didn't want to look like the sole survivor of the apocalypse. I hope I achieved that balance.

*What's the most embarrassing thing you've done for a girl/guy/furry?

I don't need anyone to embarrass myself, that's for sure. So I've never embarrassed myself FOR anyone. But when I was a (relative) n00b I did have an incident with a girl. I'd never used any prim attachments. This girl was taking her clothes off so I decided to join her and without realizing it I threw my junk on the floor. And then instead of picking it up, in my panic I turned it blue. There I stood, staring at her, nekkid with no parts and a blue peen on the floor. She logged.

Between that and the backflip I did the first time I was with my (current) partner, I've had (at least) a couple of shining moments.

*What's the last book you read?

A Wolf At The Table by Augusten Borroughs. It ripped me open. As a long-time fan of his stuff, I expected a completely different experience. But it was still brilliant.

*What's a movie you could watch over and over?

There are many. Probably Blade Runner.

*You could never date someone who___________

took herself or her av too seriously. Or didn't have a wicked sense of humor.

*If you could trade SLives with one other avatar for a day, who would it be?

no one. I am pretty happy with my slife. I mean maybe there's a builder or a rich perv-maker like the strokerz guy who out-do me in the accomplishments department. But my low-key, low drama, simple existence is full of great friends, fecking hilarious banter, music, laughter, and real connections. I'm not interested in trading.

*Who would you most like to collaborate with in SL?

hmmm Probably my girlfriend Noirran Marx. I like the way her head works so much, she makes me feel more creative just by osmosis.

*Favorite thing to do in SL?

Hang with Noirran. She's pretty amazing. I'm a lucky kat.

Oh Snap! Don't People Ever Learn?

Yus! A Mean Girl favorite is back! Despite various examples of what NOT to do with your Avatar in previous Oh Snaps! and other blogs such as SL Fashion Police, folks are still taking individuality to a level that is not what we call... tasteful.

Kaedy and I have a few opinions on these new additions to the Oh Snap! Hall of Shame... so sit up and listen so you know not to make the same mistakes.

The Skank

Guen: Yeah... I tend to find many of my photos at Sanctuary Rock, and this... thing is no exception. Not only does she have BOTH prim hair and system hair, but her body is sorely out of proportion. This is supposed to be sexy? For who? Big Bird? Her Group Tag saying 'Slut for Free' certainly didn't get her any offers from what I saw.

Kaedy: Even Skeletor has more meat on his bones than this... this... OMG what the F is it?

Business Suit Larry

Guen: Okay I know that new players have to get used to the sliders, but this guy decided to take a few of them a bit too far. He looks like Bill Clinton's long lost cousin... who never left Arkansas.


Kaedy: O.O
Holy Smokes!
1. Eyes to big
2. Suit to small. Showing your abs is a great thing but not if you're wearing a suit for crying out loud.
3. Shoes would be nice.
4. Throw in some socks too. They're free
5. And the hair... Hun too much dippidy doo is a bad thing.

The Tattooed Lady

Kaedy: OK... how do you even put something this horrific together, let alone say to yourself.. "oh yeah.. this is hot.. this works". Honey if you were going for the Fashion Don't of the year awards... well here ya go!

Guen: I -think- that's an outfit, but it looked to me like a giant tattoo covering her naughty bits. Shame on the designer for creating it, but shame on this gal for buying it and wearing it in public. O.O Oh and of course the blingy heels just add that extra zest of cheese, don't they?


Pinky Bling

Guen: Yeah I -think- she was going for 'cute but badass' with this look, but once you're blinded with the bling... it's no longer cute nor badass.

Kaedy: Ok.. exactly what direction is she going with this outfit? Rocker/Punk/Teeniebopper/Bratzdoll/Blingtard? ???

Twiggy II

Guen: Not only does this girl need about 10 Baconators, she needs to realize that this isn't Teen Second Life®. Anorexia is just as horrible a disease in SL® as it is in RL, apparently.

Kaedy: Turn her sideways, make her stick out her tongue and voila! A Zipper!


An MG Blawg Post Series. Views on fashion, faces, and unfortunates combined into one general consensus.

If you see something you'd like us to Oh Snap! Please send the pic(s) with full perms to Guenevere DeCuir or Kaedy Ferraris in world.

Meat 'N Greet: Kandr Newall

*Favorite Color:

Claret, especially my claret waistcoat.

*SL Rezzday:

11/24/2006

*Favorite animal and why?

Bear. Among some native peoples, Bear is a healer and a teacher. In the wild, a bear is often the master of his domain. Also, I like naps and honey. :-)

*What factors did you take into consideration when creating your AV?

I mixed equal parts alter ego and macho fantasy. I created what I thought was a hot Master. I've since learned and grown a lot, and I would probably find my newbie self laughable.

*What's the most embarrassing thing you've done for a girl/guy/furry?

I do outlandish things all the time, and I'm seldom embarrassed. Maybe you'd like to know I bought a centaur avatar to fulfill a friend's fantasy?

*What's the last book you read?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8 (Ain't that a TV show?)

*What's a movie you could watch over and over?

Serenity. Kaylee: "Been more'n a year since I had anything twixt my nethers didn't run on batteries!" Mal: "I don't want to hear that!" Jayne: "I could stand to hear a little more." I'm a cross between Jayne and Mal.

*You could never date someone who _____________

Someone who was too serious. I come here to relax and have fun, and sometimes I get too serious or stressed. Yikes! I need playmates who will laugh with me and laugh at me.

*If you could trade SLives with one other avatar for a day, who would it be?

The owner of an art gallery. I like browsing and buying original art here. Maybe someday I'll open a gallery. That's got to be a rush: discovering and publicizing fresh talent.

*Who would you most like to collaborate with in SL?

A Master or Mistress who can teach me things I don't know. I don't want to plateau.

*Favorite thing to do in SL?

Hanging out with my circle of friends, when we're feeling both playful and naughty. Witty is sexy.

For god's sake, the numbers!

Let's talk names. I'll keep this short.

I've always wondered about people who have numbers in their names. I mean, if their name is like John6 Smith or something, maybe that means they had a hard time getting the name they really wanted.

But what about, like, AOL IM chat names? SexxyGirl69 Somelastname. How many of those have I seen? Or you know, DarkWolf3789 Somelastname or something insane.

It's a name. PICK A NAME. Just choose a NAME. It doesn't have to have numbers in it. Make it a fun name! A cool name, a sexy name, SOME KIND OF NAME. But please, please do not use your IM or chatroom profile name with your date of birth or your zipcode or the last four digits of your phone number or whatever. Just pick a name.

I don't know, maybe it's just me. But when I'm in-world, I am suspending a little bit of reality. So as soon as someone shows up with a name filled with numbers, unless it's REALLY an excellent play on something-or-other, I suddenly start to feel like I'm sitting in a Yahoo chat room somewhere and halfway start to expect webcam requests.

What made me think of this?

I was at SL5B the other day hanging out at a DJ set of a friend of mine, and it ended up being an excellent place to peoplewatch. So beyond the folks with boob sliders at 100 and body fat at zero, the gal with the face/body light that BURNED WITH THE LIGHT OF A THOUSAND SUNS, and a blingtard or two, I also saw some names with numbers. One in particular sticks out, and I will change the name to protect the innocent, but I have friends who were with me who can back me up on how absurd this name truly was.

It was along the lines of:

SuperAwesomeJohnathan1991

That's right. It was that long. And it had numbers in it. A YEAR, to be precise. And multiple words. *facepalm*

I tried to imagine what it would be like to emote to SuperAwesomeJohnathan1991. Or if he just asks people to call him John. Or Awesome. Or Super.

"Hey, baby. You can just call me 1991. All my friends do."

Diversity, Part II

I also have had some thought about Diversity in SL®, and since they're celebrating said subject this week for the 5th birthday dealio, I will slide in another few words on the matter.

This train of thought initially started many weeks before the events going on now. I came across a post from Chestnut Rau wondering why do many think that the only way to be recognized and accepted is to be a human avatar?

I know there's many many other Avatar types out there (robots, demons, furries, elves, transgenders, etc) because in truth the sky -is- the limit in this virtual world. I am not attempting to exclude any other avatars by any means. If we are meant to truly celebrate how diverse we are in both RL and SL®, then we have to recognize the creativity of everyone (yus even the Blingtards and 'Oh Snap!' candidates).

Still, I decided to ask 5 folks with their own unique outlook on avatars to see what they think:

Beatrix Noel: A purple fairy with a style that's as diverse as SL® itself
Rosie B: One of our favorite plus-sized ladies
Kaedy: A vampire who's more than just goth clothing and curves
Mirari Cheney: A Neko who will scratch ya as soon as smootch ya
Pangtera Nakamura: The ultimate anti-human

I first asked each of them their true influences for creating a unique Avatar:

Mirari: Mir as she is was a off shoot from a lyv tyler avi. I made her tall which I'm not lol better endowed than i am. So she is ... a fantasy? but then isnt that what SL is supposed to be?

Rosie B: When I logged in for the very first time to meet up with my best friend, I wasn't aware that there were standards. So, when I got to the spot on orientation island and they told me to customize it, I just ... went with whatever I felt like doing. Which was making her on the short and round side. It wasn't until I got TP'd into a busy club and people started commenting about my shape that I realized I had done something out of the ordinary.

Pangtera: My natural curiosity in physically being something that I couldn't in real life. Everywhere i go i see humans, and everyone expects others to be human, and it makes the SL® experience limiting in my opinion. It seems many are afraid to try new things.

So it comes down to seeing beyond the limits of a normal 'human' (and yus -I- think Liv Tyler is beyond human, k?) However... just because you are a cat, or dragon, or alien... does that mean you're not sexy? Who decides what is sexy and what isn't? Vogue? Cosmo? Nah. What about Second Life® fashion blogs like Second Style Fashionista or Linden Lifestyles? Does it really matter?

Mirari: sadly... I do think people put too much into looks here as in rl. People take themselves too seriously here sometimes.

Kaedy: Well some [vampire Av's] are definitely over the top about it.

Pangtera: I personally never bought avatars to feel sexy, but if others think it's sexy or not sexy, it's fine. A lot of people doll themselves up for others, but I dress up for me and only me.

Beatrix: I have to be honest and say I don't see myself as being that unusual. Obviously I am but I'm just me, I have the same shape from when I was wearing regular skin.

With all that being said, then sexy is merely a state of mind... and in the end we're all people behind the screens portraying our own personification of ourselves through our vast imaginations.

Finally, is there any advice to offer for those who wish to step outside the box?

Beatrix: Go for it! or if you are worried try something out. There are plenty of low cost options plus this is SL® and nothing is permanent. When I first started wearing purple skin people asked me why, and I said, "It makes me happy!" and my friend were cool with that.

Kaedy: I guess go with whatever makes you comfortable. After all is a game and the sky is the limit, so be whatever you want to be. But also remember that there are real people behind these avatars. Some people can be so rude just because they can hide behind their keyboards. It ruins it for everyone.

Rosie B: One good thing about SL® is, it's not permanent. But if you're going to pick a nonstandard avatar, and you think you want to be in one nonstandard avie style, own it. Really love it. Make it a part of you, whether it's an avenue for personal growth, or just a hell of a lot of fun, or because you like how you look, have some reason to really make it your own. That'll make your experience as rewarding as it can be. In a world where you can be anything you want to be, there's no reason why you should be something you aren't totally in love with. SL is what you make of it, whether you're "standard," "nonstandard," classic, unique. Just adore yourself.

And so... enjoy diversity whether you're a purple lover, zombie, or a shining ball of light, there's bound to be other folks out there who will accept you for who you really are...

Diversity, y'all.

Diversity. You know, you'd figure that SL was a big enough place that we could all get around and get along, but sometimes that doesn't work out.

Does it in general? Sure.

Does it always? No.

Now, this time I'm not talking about me. Or, okay, I'm not talking about only me. I have been fortunate that through changing my perspective a little and changing my surroundings a little and just being more confident, I've seen fewer and fewer people who criticize my choice of avie.

But what about others?

I have furry friends who can't go some places, or show up places and get immediately banned. I have neko friends who get looked at funny depending on just how neko they are (ears and tails? That's okay, but you have a neko skin? Wow, you're HARDCORE!). Friends who, behind their avatars, are of different ethnic backgrounds who are inadvertently subjected to racial "jokes" and epithets by folks who assume that just because your avatar is young and white, you too are young and white.

What about the transgendered, the "shemale," or those who are one gender in RL but play another in SL? How about people who are one race in RL and play a completely different one in SL?

And don't even get me started on homophobia. Through Guen, On a friend's flickr stream the other day I actually saw a picture of an advertisement, in a store, of a T-shirt for the "sexually challenged," meaning those who were homosexual.

I don't know if I've seen or noticed it more than other people, because I used to get funny looks myself or because I had a hard time finding a spot to fit in the mesh of this world, but holy crap, people. What the hell with all the ignorance? What the hell with people who screech about avatars speaking languages other than their own (I assume many of them don't realize that a great many of the avatars who DO speak English are doing so as a courtesy to the rest of us, since it isn't their first language), who exclude others who in SL or in RL are different than they are, just because they think that's the safer thing to do.

What. The. Hell.

Even LL is getting in the act in its own way, and its own time, but many of you have already blogged about that or read about it so I won't beat the horse here.

I'm pretty much over it. I have a diverse, completely amazing SL family, made up of occasional-furs, nekos, white people, black people, tan people, purple people, faeries, puppies, kitties, tops, bottoms, gays, straights, bi's, transgenders, crossdressers, and one person who is occasionally a wedge of cheese.

So, if you're among the people who are the tolerant, thanks for enriching our experience. If you are among the intolerant, do us all a favor and pull your head squarely out of your ass.

THAT BEING SAID, it's diversity week at Lounge of Dreams, and all of you are invited to come hang out with us no matter what you look like, sound like, feel like, in RL, in SL. We're restricted by LL to adult avatars only, but for everything else, anything goes.

I swear, instead of Diversity Week we should have Kick Someone Intolerant In The Teeth week.

Is that counterproductive?