The Outdoorsman

My brother, Peter, is an outdoorsman. He has a hard time being inside the house—says it makes him claustrophobic. You can generally find him outside puttering around, putting out salt licks for the deer or tinkering with the Gator (some ATV thing he’s gonna break his neck on) or chopping wood for Mom and Dad or checking his deer stand for the 20 millionth time. He’s a quiet guy but pretty restless. He says the air is clearer out there. The rest of us think winter stinks; he thinks it’s a fine opportunity to throw on a sweater and walk around outside.

I managed to catch him out in the back field, going to shovel some path for the bunnies or something. He has on his new favorite sweater, one he got from mappy Handrick, which is a great turtleneck normally, but he is wearing a scarf he picked up from Jon Ree, hiding the neck. His jeans are from mappy Hendrick too; plain and versatile, they have a nice blue tone that isn’t all washed and wussy. Boots are his trusty worn Somas from Eponymous Trenchmouth.

My brother is actually a handsome guy (he’s related to me, of course). His skin, from Maximillion Grant, gives him the manly look he needs. The thing is, Maximillion has been making men’s skins in SL for a long time so he knows what a guy needs. He even looks great in a dorky hat, this one from Sienia Trevellion. (“My hat is not dorky! It’s so macho you can’t even understand because you’re a girl,” he told me.)

I convinced him to take off his sweater (when I told him some of my girl friends actually read this blog). He wants to make sure you see his ripped abs from all the woodcutting. (He refuses to acknowledge that Maximillion has given him these abs.)

It snowed last year too:  I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea.  ~Dylan Thomas

Hair: >TRUTH< Ben – cocoa by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: LOGO Eternity Tristan Skin – Chestnut – Stubble Bk by Maximillion Grant for LOGO*

Sweater *ARAI* High neck knit_black by mappy Hendrick for *ARAI*

Jeans: *ARAI* Nonwash Denim by mappy Hendrick for *ARAI*

Hat: sur+ [trapper cord grey] by Sienia Trevellion for sur+

Scarf: MTP Warm Scarf Saddle Blanket [mens] by Jon Ree for Mustang Trading Post

Boots: SOMA 2 Gray/Black by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers

Shovel: -RC- Snow Shovel (red) by Redd Columbia for RC Cluster

All to All

Like a good pop song, a good outfit can just make you feel good. It hooks into your thoughts and gives you a little boost.

This outfit from Shinichi Mathy makes me feel like my male avatar looks pretty darn good. It has all the good qualities you wnt in a men’s outfit: multiple layers for different looks, easy to adjust prims and a great set of textures layered upon each other in the clothing. If you get close to Shinichi’s work, you see he has executed everything with the kind of exactitude that a dude wearing something like this would like. A set of stitches runs along the edge of the collar, buttons line up along the cuffs, the sweater gapes open slightly to show the striped shirt underneath. It’s a great look.

I have been dying to show this “maletail” (a word I made up) because it’s really made for men. With the hair falling out and curling around my guy’s face, it makes me want to reach up and let it loose for him. Chiaki Xue has a set of alternative hair for men and women that I found really inspiring. Tricky Boucher’s handsome Ewan completes my look with its sensual lips and sexy eyes.

You made your life on everything
~ “All to All” by Broken Social Scene

Hair: **Dura-Boy**06(Black resize) by chiaki Xue for Dura

Skin: -Belleza- Ewan v2 SK 0 (hair) by Tricky Boucher for –Belleza- *

Outfit: SHIKI-CITY STROLL by Shinichi Mathy for Shiki *

Necklace: HardWear BDSM  Necklace (no script) by Shea Paule for HardWear *

Ring: Majikal Rings stacked pewter by Mhaijik Guillaume for Guillaume pour homme

Shoes: Franken Black by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Now that everyone has submitted their Christmas list to me, all I can say is… “You can’t always get what you want.” This particular lyric comes up in my life more often than not. Certainly in times like ours, it’s easy to feel we are being cheated out of things. It always seems the other guy is winning out: the neighbor gets a new car when the radiator on yours goes out, a co-worker gets the promotion you wanted, your friend meets the love of her life while you are still sitting at home alone on Saturday nights. We are always dissatisfied with something it seems.

The holidays are coming along now and you have to say to yourself, am I going to be happy with what I get and do? Am I going to open a gift and be thrilled simply that someone gave me something? Am I going to be happy that I was able to make a batch of cookies or make someone smile for a few minutes rather than having done the whole Martha Stewart perfect holiday thing? Am I going to enjoy the moments now and not think about what 2012 will bring, good or bad? I got all I need; what more could I want?

I am in that mode of thinking. It’s been a rough year for many but here we are. The earth is still rotating and gosh, SL is still chugging along despite everyone’s prognostications about its demise. When I make my Christmas list, it will be with this in mind. And my list-making outfit is shown here. A hand-knit bolero sweater from miu Villota tops a great striped henley from Rob Moonites. (He has a whole new set—for good boys and girls at his store.) Comfy black leggings from beanster Potato are tucked into Eponymous Trenchmouth’s festive Ugg-style boots (on sale for a mere 99L at his NEW store—check that lm).

Nena Janus gives me my Christmas red lips and glowing skin. A casual style from Truth Hawks completes the look. The scene in which I took my lead photo was constructed by Chandni Khondji, who has a plethora of holiday-themed scenes available for photographing. If you are currently planning your holiday photo, I would strongly recommend you check her store, which has scenes for all needs. Finally, my Christmas hat was a personal gift from Kermit, who bops in and out of SL to drop his creations on his friends. He has a great sense of humor (I will never forget the Halloween bat that picked me up and flew with me). Thanks, Kermit!

But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need
~ Rolling Stones

Hair:  >TRUTH< Nela – cherry by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: *League* Amber Br Sunkiss -BurgundyWine- by Nena Janus for *League* *

Sweater: *MIU* loose cardigan(black) by miu Villota for *MIU*

Shirt: *FIR & MNA* The Emerson Raglan Burgundy by Rob1977 Moonites for *FIR & MNA* *

Leggings: Leggies – Black by beanster Potato for Ducknipple

Boots: Ho! – Red SF by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers

Hat: Kermit Santa Hat v3 by Kermit Rutkowski (not available for sale)

Scene: *~*HopScotch*~* Out of the window (X-mas Edition) by Chandni Khondji for *~*HopScotch*~* *

The Boy Next Door

Remember the boy next door? What was his name? Brian Gerdes. Yeah, Brian of the failed rocket experiments that one summer, the year of no bathing when he was 12, the face full of braces through junior high, the cracked voice and zits and obsession about the Cure, the oil-leaking Corolla parked in his parent’s driveway. Boy, you haven’t seen him in years. Yet there he is, pulling up in his Saab this holiday in the neighbors’ driveway, alone, looking utterly changed and fantastic.

You never thought Brian knew anything about fashion. That leather jacket from hiwinyu Fazuku is clearly made of some expensive animal skin with its soft buttery textures. The details are spectacular with its double-breasted tailoring, military cuffs and epaulets and gorgeous buttoned vent in back. Underneath a vest is buttoned over an uncommonly beautiful black silk shirt with a great ascot. A scarf is thrown around his neck. What has happened to the gawky, dorky Brian you once knew?

He sports a rugged handsome look thanks to Tricky Boucher. Now that Brian has grown up and shed the braces, he’s pretty darn tasty. You remember how his father would give him a buzz cut in the back yard every Memorial Day weekend and again at Halloween. He has clearly outgrown that style with his long curly locks from chiaki Xue. Your fingers tingle at the thought of touching it. Brian’s all grown up!

How are you going to manage to get next door to talk to him? Just make yourself look all delicious and grab a plate of Mom’s cookies to take over to Mrs. Gerdes….

Hair: **Dura-Boy**05(Black resize) by chiaki Xue for **Dura**(Hair shop)

Skin: -Belleza- Ewan v2 SK 3 (hair) by Tricky Boucher for -Belleza-*

Jacket with shirt and vest: ::[ Mr.Poet ]::Peacoat and Pleated shirt-Vest set_Brown by hiwinyu Fazuku for ::[ Mr.Poet ]::

Pants: ::[ Mr.Poet ]::Leather woven pants black & belt brown by hiwinyu Fazuku for ::[ Mr.Poet ]::

Shoes: DB – Brown (Copy OK) by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers *

PS Thanks to Vaki Zenovka at Insert Funny Name Here for the link to Mr. Poet.

Knitting with Balls

Everyone is wondering where I have been this weekend. I have been knitting. It’s kind of become an obsession. And there is a half price sale on yarn at Michael’s. Goodness—this spells trouble. I found a book about men knitting called “Knitting with Balls,” and some of the best knitters I see online are male. So today I am a male knitter.

The needles are put away. Our guy came up with this great sweater. Some of the best knitters are I know are male so this pattern would have been no difficulty. (The truth is that Floatie Hock made this terrific sweater. Just play along with me here.) His jeans are manly work jeans from Callie Cline, who knows what she likes in men.

Our guy’s skin is an exclusive at the Euphoria sim and a new offering from Brox Riaxik. With its very defined features, it’s not malleable to just any shape but once you find the right one, it’s a great look and you won’t run around looking like every other guy. I really like the eyebrows and the whisker work, and his eyes are beautifully expressive. My scarf is woven by Tyr Rozenblum–not knitted but the skull cap is something our guy whipped up while he was laid up with rugby injuries (dude is manly—really!). Cocoro Lemon provided the pattern and the yarn.

My favorite male knitter—Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed:

Cap: *COCO*Homme_KnitCap_Black(skull) by cocoro Lemon for *COCO*

Skin: [ DNA ] .::.:HARMONY:.::. [_TYPE 3A_] [_BALD_]   CHIN BEARD by Brox Riaxik for [ DNA Cloning Facility ], available exclusively at Euphoria *

Sweater: HB – Ira – Plum by Floatie Hock for Hell Bop

Pants: “mainLine” denim dark black jeans by caLLie cLine for caLLie cLine *

Scarf: Tyranny – Draped Scarf – Autumn Plaid by Tyr Rozenblum for Tyranny

Shoes: DB – Brown by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers *

Ontology is Sexy!

Every campus has one: the sexy male professor, the one that make the women (and men) suddenly become serious about postmodern theory because it’s just so delicious to hear him say “ontology” or “zeitgeist” or “paradigm.” (Can you say Indiana Jones..?)

The really sexy professor is the earnest one, the one who is so oblivious to girls’ and boys’ admiring glances as he eagerly buries his head in another issue of The American Journal of Semiotics. He wears a jacket (this from Yaszi Mornington) and khakis (thrifted at Floatie Hocks’) to school so he looks older than the kids and wears practical and handsome oxfords for walking to class from his apartment nearby (these being the newest from Eponymous Trenchmouth) and designer glasses—his one indulgence (from Kalnins). He carries his books in his beaten messenger bag from grad school (suitably battered by Guu Nishi) and flings a scarf he picked up in India over his shoulders for a touch of flair (embroidered by Zaara Kohime). (He may seem like an absent-minded professor, but he understands beautiful bricolage just fine, thanks.)

Thank you to Hart Larsson, I have brought my sexy professor to life with his newest men’s skin. Hart has built in so many options with these skins—whiskers, hair bases, emo eyeliners, and an optional scripted cock that he sculpted himself. I will not comment upon the cock, except to say that Hart is an excellent programmer and has made it to have 6 positions. When I wore this skin, I literally gasped. Hart’s artistry is readily apparent with his talents at drawing and illustrating clear. The eyebrows are well-shaped and masculine without being those of a primate, his eyes are simply drawn and mature, and his face is handsome without being dainty. I think this will soon become the skin men flock to.

Seduction is always more singular and sublime than sex and it commands the higher price. ~ Jean Baudrillard

Hair: Bryce ~ Cooper – Blacks – Tuxedo by Bryce Tully for Bryce

Skin: [ PXL] Daniel NAT Face01 Dark H by Hart Larsson for [ PXL ]

Jacket: Meriken Co. “Rhett” -black- by Yaszi Mornington for Meriken

T-Shirt: *TSM* Equilizer V-neck Tee in Steely Rust by Helena Stringer for The Stringer Mausoleum *

Pants: HB – Quin – Khaki – with belt by Floatie Hock for Hell Bop *

Glasses: Kalnins Optics Glasses – Faust #1 v1.45 from Kalnins Optics

Scarf: ZC : pashmina scarf  *rust* by Zaara Kohime for Zaara

Messenger Bag: HOC – Leather messenger bag – Brown by Guu Nishi for HOC

Shoes: DB – Russet by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers *

Stranger in a Strange Land

If you’re wondering if I know this good looking guy, I sure do. Bram Ellison has been a friend of mine for quite a while, and while his avatar’s attractive, it has more to do with his personality than how is avatar looks. Generous, kind, intelligent, and gentlemanly to a fault, Bram is the kind of guy you are honored to have in your friends list. It doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eye ;)

“I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me.” ~ Archibald Alexander Leach, aka Cary Grant

On September 19^th, 2006, I logged in to Second Life for the very first time. Until the exact moment my avatar appeared I had never heard of a virtual world and had no idea I had just entered one. I thought I was signing up for an online class. Surprise!

Since part of the purpose of the guest blog is to talk about how we developed our persona, I thought you might want to know just how embryonic I began. I had never even been in a chat room! So the realization that all around me were 3D representations of real people talking and interacting in real time was a bit overwhelming. “Dude. You are sooo not in Kansas,” pretty much summed it up. But I decided to stick around to figure out where the heck I had landed and if there were flying monkeys involved. Turns out there were, and one of them was me.

 

My first take on the place was that you weren’t supposed to be yourself at all, and I was shocked when people kept asking personal questions. I mean look at the name: “Second Life.” It practically screams, “Try something new!” So I set out to define who I wanted to be in my second life. That was too lofty a goal, so I settled for WHAT I wanted: a boat, and to not look like I was begging for bananas.

I got a small boat to live on and was a happy lil’ Jimmy Buffett-blaring simian for a while until I began to get handy with the shape tools. There are 77 selections in 9 categories and there’s a bit of work involved in getting to know and use them well. But you have to start someplace, and the person I picked to emulate for physical cues was Cary Grant. The man just oozed style, and the better I got at shaping the more I appreciated his taste and grace. I started paying more attention to clothes, skins, accessories, and hair. (I also found out you could buy shapes! Oh well.) But through all the Cary channeling, I always came home to the boat, beach, and Buffett.

What you are seeing in these pictures is my culmination of the two styles. Flick Carlucci took these photos at very cool sim called “Virtual Decay.” She’s got a great eye and is fun to work with. No matter what I wear from tux to tennis shoes, I’m all about the best possible design and texture. (Read, picky as hell.) I like simple classic colors and styles with a casual slant and the shirt/jacket combo and the jeans from AOHARU fit the bill nicely. The boots are my favorites from Jeepers Creepers. The shape is still my own creation and I think the Redgrave skin suits it well. The hair is from Truth and I totally dig it. Oh, the sweet Rickenbacker M330 guitar is from Nortique Guitars. Now here we are four years in. I’m still on a boat and I know who I am. Jimmy Cary Grant Buffett, aka Bram Ellison. Or maybe he’s me. ;)

We are the people our parents warned us about. ~ Jimmy Buffett

Hair: Elysium, espresso by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH<

Skin: Cruz, deep tan by Emilia Redgrave for Redgrave

Eyes: Rainy Day by Pompeja Rossini for Damiani

Shape: Bram Ellison for Bram Ellison

Jacket with Shirt: Black with white shirt by machang Pichot for AOHARU

Jeans: Vintage dark by machang Pichot for AOHARU

Necklace: Stone Cross by JesseAitui Petion for AITUI

Tattoo: Northwest Spirit by JesseAitui Petion for AITUI

Boots: Oslo, black by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers

Guitar: Rickenbacker 330 Guitar by K1TTY Munro for Nortique Guitars

Photography by Flick Carlucci.

Photos taken at Virtual Decay.

Bowling Night

People in SL have regular nights. My Sunday night I *always* go to Tiphares, almost without fail, to dance with my pals and chat about .. well.. geeky things. We have gotten to be good friends just from this regular meeting. We visit each other, we send support and greetings, we care about each other from that simple weekly exchange. It’s the 21st centure version of a weekly bowling night.

Bowling night.. it’s where people meet up and tease and cajole and celebrate together. I wanted to put together a sort of vintage look so I relied on this terrific top by Floatie Hock, generous proprietess of the Car Wash sims and creator for Hell Bop. Check out the great detailing on this shirt—the pocket placket, the wrinkles, the little logo over the pocket. Floatie has a terrific sense of “retro,” and she outfits men even better than women. (This shirt looks absolutely terrific on a man.)

I found the jeans at Ayame Musashi’s sim, called Musashi on the map but called Hoshikuzu as a community. She has one of the best arcade areas I have seen.. I can almost smell the popcorn and soda spilled on the floor and feel that sort of sticky grimy dirt on the machines.

The skin is a new one from Keiko Morigi. She gives copious instructions in her notecard about how to adjust the mouth so it doesn’t look like… well, an intimate body part. I didn’t have to adjust my mouth, however; the lips look great on me. So if they ARE turning out to look bad on you, perhaps it really is your shape making you look like.. you have an intimate body part on your face and not the skin. The skin is beautiful—wistful and nostalgic—her ads look remarkable but they are clearly true to the skin. I especially like her eyebrows this time and the delicious little beauty marks.

I show it with Bubbles Clawtooth’s 50L loveliness. He keeps cranking ‘em out week after week, to the delight of us all. I think this hair deserves more than 50L. I can’t wait to see him bring it out in other colors.

Finally the shoes. I have gone on and on about Eponymous Trenchmouth’s craftmanship and artistry. These babies are years old and still stand the test of time. These are all prim, baby—none of that sculpty stuff. And look at the details—stitched soles, shiny and even eyelets, terrifically textured laces. Epy’s da man!

Mine’s Sunday night. Todd or Erehwon show up with the music, Aki supplies the beer, Zha brings the chips, and sometimes Mir shows up with artichoke dip or Love and Peta bring some pork rinds. Me? I provide the fashion show ;)

Hair: Clawtooth: Woman of the Year – Delicious wine by Bubbles Clawtooth for Clawtooth

Skin: &Bean – hounds of love LIGHT Rav 3 brow by Keiko Morigi for &Bean

Shirt: HB – Mike – Bowling Shirt Red by Floatie Hock by Hell Bop *

Jeans: SlowRez Jeans 701 by Ayame Musashi for SlowRez

Glasses: /artilleri/ gladys glasses *red* by Antonia Marat by /artilleri/

Earrings: bowling pin (made into earrings) by FuzzyHusky Crumb purchased on XStreetSL

Bowling ball: Made by me

Shoes: ST Women’s R&B Strike! WH by Eponymous Trenchmouth for JCS-Jeepers Creepers

Mountain Climber (Latte Drinker)

You ever see those women and men who walk around in heavy duty outerwear.. you know, the ones that wear the state-of-the-art quilted coats from places like The North Face or Patagonia, coats that could be worn in Antarctica to view the March of the Penguins while keeping oneself in relative comfort. These are the same people with heated seats in their Volvos and iPhones in their pocket (so their tushies don’t get cold and they don’t miss any e-mails). They WOULD be down south, wind slapping their face red, tears turning to icicles, BUT… there is no decent latte in Antarctica…

Damen Gorilla of Adam n Eve makes it out as if these vests are for hearty women, women who are adventurers, who climb prim mountains and brave the frigid cold. (“For the adventurous women…. those who prefer not to sacrifice their style whilst halfway up the mountain, navigating through the north west passage or fording a giant delta somewhere..”) Well I spoke to him about that, and I called his bluff. He admitted it’s all for the ad. He just wants you to get the vest because it’s well made and good. I would agree.

Damen has crafted a well-designed sculpty vest combined with terrific textures (and I show the white here because white is darn hard to make right). It fits well, covers well (sometimes the avatar bleeds through the sculpty in odd places on prim jackets but not this one), and is versatile. I would recommend it for any mountain-climbing cappucino drinker!

I slipped on some jeans from Sumi Sorbet/Tuli Asturius (complete with strawberry and too tight to wear long underwear underneath), wore a sweater and earmuffs from Antonia Marat and stuck a cup of latte from Redd Columbia in my hand. A sweet casual ponytail from fri.day and relatively unmade-up skin from Lorac Farella, and I am SO ready for that mountain.. or hill.. or walk from the coffeehouse to the bookstore in the next block. Yeah…

The finale to this outfit are a pair of sweet little Ughs from Eponymous Trenchmouth. Now, I could walk around in these all day—they are like slippers—sheepskin inside, supple suede on the outside—a recipe for toasty feet. (Yes, I realize these are “not real,” but Epy makes them so well, I just FEEL warm looking at them.)

“Gimme a double latte, soy milk  with a shot of vanilla and a tinch of cinnamon on top, please”:

Hair: fri. – Allison.2 – Jealous Red by Parvarti Monday for fri.day

Skin: Pulse Skin-Life/Tone 4 Warm m1 Black brows by Lorac Farella by Pulse Skins *

Vest: Adam n Eve – Adventure Jacket – Ice White by Damen Gorilla for Adam n Eve *

Sweater: /artilleri/ Marius knit sweater *red* by Antonia Marat for /artilleri/

Jeans: *sUmi* jeans regular by Sumi Sorbet for Tuli

Earmuffs: /artilleri/ Knit earmuffs! (MOUTH) *red* by Antonia Marat for /artilleri/

Boots: Ugh – Silver LF by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers

Coffee: -RC- Nana’s Knitted Coffee Cozy by Redd Columbia for RC Cluster

Golden Boy

It turns out that gentlemen read my blog too. So this is a shout out to you, guys. I will continue to feature men’s clothes as they come into my pretty–*ahem* manly and rugged hands.

One of the prerequisites of SL for men is owning a tuxedo. Now, you can walk around in the freebie tuxedo from Phats or Franks (thereby letting everyone know that you are either fashion-challenged or cheap), or you can invest in finer haberdashery.

I highly recommend you check out Shiryu Musashi’s newest tuxedo, which comes with 10 colors of waistcoat plus the ever wonderful bowtie HUD that Shiryu has developed (which sets your bowtie to the color you choose and also allows you to fit your lapels).

My gorgeous Ethan skin from Mallory Cowen over my male shape looks amazing wearing this tuxedo. If you’re tired of the same old, same old, this is a look that might put you heads above the other gentlemen. And this hair from Daaii Jinn. Holy cow! Delish!

I ran over to Jeepers Creepers and grabbed a pair of Eponymous Trenchmouth’s Shanghais, which are my FAVORITE men’s shoes. Look how brilliantly they echo the patterns in Shiryu’s tuxedo without being matchy matchy.

Catch her eye:

Hair: null_hair_Rio-de-Janeiro_dusk by Daaii Jinn for null

Skin: Laqroki ~ Ethan 05 Portrait skin by Mallory Cowen for Laqroki

Tuxedo: (Musashi-Do) Party in Venezia by Shiryu Musashi for Musashi-Do *

Shoes: Shanghai – Black/Green by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers