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

The Male Gaze

When I was in college studying theater one sad last senior semester (when you take classes like “Feminist Theater”), I bumped up against the “male gaze,” which was a theory proffered by Laura Mulvey (quite a while ago) that the audience for films is always put in the perspective of men, specifically straight men. That is, when we see a movie, we always see it through a straight man’s eyes. A scene will linger on the beauty of a woman and will do so as if a straight man were looking at her as opposed to another woman, for example. (I would argue that one of the reasons men in SL don’t have a lot of hair choices is because the male gaze insists on the decoration and objectification of women first. Look at it this way—the hegemony of the male gaze makes those boobs come out so darn big and insists on cleavage skin, k?)

What do you do, though, when the gaze is not straight? It could be argued that gay men have a certain power in our society, much more so than ever before. What about the gay male gaze? Of course, I am stereotyping the gay’s gaze (I couldn’t resist that pun) with this ensemble. (After all there is a whole spectrum of desire and taste within the gay community.) This particular version of desire shows an uber-masculine man displaying his masculinity in a very overt manner with bright colors, tight, revealing clothes, and rich details.

Shea Paule, a gay man made this outfit, so presumably it is what he would like to see on other men. I *really* love the Carnaby Street pants (thanks, T, for the reference), the low slung belt, the um.. prim package included with the pants, the open shirt and its rich pumpkin color. Check out how these pants fit on our guy—they are just tight and just right. It could be argued your average straight guy just could not pull this off but a strong and confident gay man make this look hot.

I wear one of Hart Larsson’s deliciously masculine skins. I like Hart’s work because it is hand drawn and not overdone. Our guy is clean cut, but still strong, not stubbled but still masculine. Tousled tresses from Truth top our tantalizing tiger. A great necklace from Jon Ree provides the perfect amount of decoration and aviator glasses from Guu Nishi hide where our male chooses to gaze.

You know what they say:  You can’t teach a gay dog straight tricks.  ~ from South Park

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

Skin: [ PXL] Daniel NAT Face00 Dark by Hart Larsson for [ PXL ] *

Shirt: HardWear “Bewildered” Shirt (pumpkin) by Shea Paule for HardWear *

Pants: HardWear “Nightshade” Pants/Waistcoat (amber) by Shea Paule for HardWear *

Glasses: HOC – Aviator style glasses #003 Male by Guu Nishi for HOC

Necklace: MTP Sly Fox necklace by Jon Ree for Mustang Trading Post

Shoes: Colbert – Brown (Copy OK, No Transfer) by Eponymous Trenchmouth for Jeepers Creepers *

A Chill in the Air

Fall has come in too quickly. I am still staring at the shorts and t-shirt in my drawers, wondering if I will ever be able to wear them again. It’s not so bad because fall brings back the best part–snuggling up.

So I have snuggled up to .. myself. Yeah, that’s my male alt modeling for me. I needed a hunk in a pinch and there he was, chilling in his box, so I pulled him out. (Yeah, really, what kind of loser snuggles their other doll except me?) The reason was this adorable seasonable skybox from Gin Galtier. She has made 50 only to be sold on Marketplace and for that alone, it’s worth considering. I don’t normally do “on location” shoots, but the colors in this skybox are so pretty and autumnal, I wanted to show something cozy.

Check out the sweet desk in the corner with Gin’s eclectic styling. The skybox comes complete with all decor, which is also modifiable and removable. So you can hack this skybox as you please and still have a cozy nook for warming up. At 215 prims, it’s a lightweight packed with a lot of goodness.

And if nothing else, it’s chock full of great photography opportunities. (How humiliating—being cute with myself… *sigh*. What I do for “art.”)

My outfit is the kind of cozy I need on a chilly day. Doc Eldritch knitted up this beautiful sweater last year that comes with a hood or this great cowl. My jeans are comfy and sexy and made by Anyusha Lilienthal. And I love these boots from Ansor Hoorenbeek (who does women’s as well as men’s.. hello), which come with three different leg options. The great leg warmers make me feel cuddly. My boy is dressed in a great sweater from mappy handrick, jeans from machang Pichot and shoes from Guu Nishi. But really, this is all about the skybox…. and the girl ;)

“Then summer fades and passes and October comes.  We’ll smell smoke then, and feel an unexpected sharpness, a thrill of nervousness, swift elation, a sense of sadness and departure.” ~  Thomas Wolfe

Featuring elefantu [October Song] Limited Edition Skybox by Gin Galtier for elefantu, sold on Marketplace *

On her:

Hair: Meredith – Dark Copper by Calico Ingmann for Calico Ingmann Creations

Skin: LAQ ~ Julie – 02 [Peach] Glow skin (red hairbase) by Mallory Cowen for LAQ

Sweater: DE Tango Fall 09 Sweater – Toffee by DoC Eldritch for DE Designs

Jeans: Ibizarre Lolo Jeans by Anyusha Lilienthal for Ibizarre

Boots: [ hoorenbeek ] Warmleg Boots – Brown by Ansor Hoorenbeek for Hoorenbeek

On him:

Hair: LAQ ~ Radiant M05 (L) – Midnight by Winter DiPrima for LAQ

Skin: no.07 :: Demetris – Natural :: Goatee 01 – Hair by Aeon Jiminy for no.07

Sweater: *ARAI* Nit_gray by mappy Handrick for ARAI

Shirt (underneath): *ARAI* Jersey_black by mappy Handrick for ARAI

Jeans: AOHARU_BT_VintageDenim_Black by machang Pichot for AOHARU

Shoes: HOC Industries – Easy Striders by Guu Nishi for HOC

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 *

The Person Behind the Screen

Supposedly, all of us in SL are old, balding paunchy men. Every single one of us. (Now having met and seen photos of quite a few people from SL, I can tell you that is SO not true. In fact, some people in SL look better than their avatars. You know who you are, Callie….) Let’s indulge that fantasy, though, and show you the *supposed* man behind the screen (again, this is not me!!!!).

Our guy occupies a certain character named Speedlvr458 Seymour in SL. “Speed,” as he prefers to be calls, runs a club called “Trancepositive,” where the playlist includes trance and psytrance. He likes to dress up like a big bear furry and dance with big colorful particles while iming with his partner, Haruhi Spitfire, a darling little fox furry, who is a 25 year-old female automotive repair student from Fenny Stratford, UK (whom he constantly exhorts to “Stay in school!”). His staff loves him; they think he is the coolest thing since paperclips. They engage enthusiastically, working their patrons into a frenzy of particle- and music-induced mania every Tuesday evening, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoons during the school year for tips to spend on their furry goodness. SL is his favorite hobby and his “family” is his touchstone for the kindness and the openness of people around the world.

In real life, Speed is named Frank, and Frank is the Building Superintendant of a 8-apartment building in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He doesn’t need to dress up—he’s behind the computer or attending to his work in the building. He’s neither famous nor infamous. He’s just a guy. But in SL he’s a big furry warm bear.

Thanks to the incredible work of Lorac Farella, I can bring Frank to life. Her artistry goes beyond the simple pretty to skins with character and skins that tell stories. Lorac made this as a gift for her husband on his 1000 day in SL. (This, supposedly, is what 1000 days in SL looks on a person.) The shirt is from Rob1977 Moonites, SL’s resident friendly Irishman and male clothier extraordinaire. Pants were thrifted at Floatie Hock, where clothing for the retro set can be found. Shoes are from the amazing Eponymous Trenchmouth, who is even cooler than you imagined. Glasses were found dropped off the elevator at Svarga but appear to be made by Guu Nishi.

Today’s show has been brought to you by the letter B.

Hair: Bryce ~ Nicholas – Whitewash – Chalk by Bryce Tully for Bryce Designs

Skin and Shape:  Pulse Gift-1000 Days in SL/Male by Lorac Farella for Pulse Skins * (no longer available)

Shirt: *FIR* White Wife Beater by Rob1977 Moonites for Fir *

Pants: HB – Leonard – Golf shorts and pants by Floatie Hock for Hell Bop

Tattoo: /artilleri/ maggie tattoo (no chest) (ushirt) by Antonia Marat for /artilleri/

Glasses: HOC – Aviator Style Glasses – Unisex #003 by Guu Nishi for HOC

Shoes: Scratch – Sand 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.

New Yorker Passerby

There is an artist I have enjoyed following over the past few years since I found out about him. Jorge Colombo, who has since become famous for his iPhone New Yorker covers, was doing daily sketches of the people he saw out on the sidewalks of New York City every day that he called “The Dailies.” I was absolutely entranced because he seemed to capture their character so vividly in each sketch, from the tone of their skin to their expression, stance and details. You can see a few of them here but he has been doing them for 10 years. (He used to date stamp each one before it got put on his website.)

I realize that my foray into avatars that look substantially different me is a sort of Jorge Colombo deal where I want to honor the people who would inhabit these bodies, perhaps spark a bit of imagination about their lives, perhaps lend empathy. They are “character sketches” in a very virtual sense. And many of them are my fellow residents in SL.

In this character sketch we see this gentleman, waiting to cross the street. His name could be Jorge.. or Dwayne.. or Hussein, depending on who his mother is and how she felt when she first saw his face. His sweater, made by potato beanster, shows a certain hipness. His drawstring cargo pants from swaffette firefly show practicality. His hi tops from Coke Dreadlow show a certain quirkiness (since they are orange) and his messenger bag from onakagoo Waco shows an artistic bent. He’s definitely a native New Yorker.

You have to wonder what’s in the bag.. art supplies? School books? Graphic novels? As he gazes out from behind his sunglasses at the traffic, you can see he’s quite a handsome man. Perhaps it’s his modeling portfolio in that bag. Certainly the skin Emilia Redgrave has provided shows off his best attributes. He is a delicious man of color.

Kavar Cleanslate completes the look for our handsome city man with dreadlocks perfect for this man about town.

“Every day I am a spy for two minutes – and every day I am after a different person.” ~ Jorge Colombo

Hair: Exile Andre cheyanne by Kavar Cleanslate for Exile

Skin: 04   Dark-Tan Skin -Tyson-/goatee+base+chesthair  *REDGRAVE* by Emilia Redgrave for Redgrave

Shape: Sophistishapes – LLOYD bodyshape by Sophia Rossen for Sophistishapes (modified from original)

Sweater: Ducknipple Tom Sweater by beanster Potato for Ducknipple

Pants: sf design cargo cutoffs stone mens by swaffette Firefly for SF Designs

Sunglasses: ROLE OPTIC SG-77 Escuda (male) by Rohal Schnyder for Role Optic *

Messenger Bag: ::: ArtMeter ::: bag S Orange by onakagoo Waco for ArtMeter(no longer available)

Earring: Made by me :)

Shoes: PornStar Hi-Tops MultiColor v2 by Coke Dreadlow for Urban Bomb Unit

Poses by Diesel Rogan of Diesel Works Animations *

Cowboy

I found this guy lurking in my subconscious. He’s a little country and a little bit rock n roll. I also think he’s the kind of guy who throws things on in that sort of seeming nonchalant manner (which is really very studied).

Let’s start with the sexy shirt from MarilynMonroe Munro. Marilyn’s business is putting out separates for casual wear—shirts, accessories, headphones, and outfits for women and men. This shirt is sexy—well textured with wrinkles in all the right places and a great versatile color.

The shorts are from Paco Pooley, inexpensive and very well done with a great camouflage texture and cargo bags and ties on the side. A lot of guys complain that there is a lack of manly clothes in SL—these shorts should keep you guys quiet for a day or two. They are just right with a nice uh.. shadowed feature in front.

One important part of completing the look is accessorizing. I think I work harder on accessorizing my male looks than my female looks. I found this brilliant hat on XStreetSL and ended up running over to Jon Ree’s for some great bracelets (do you guys call them that or are they like “European Wrist Decorations”). The wheat I fished out of my inventory.

The handsome face is courtesy of KaoZ Koba. I have noticed more and more men walking around with this devastating look. I am not sure how Pompeja can stand it, looking at this on KaoZ and not jumping through the monitor.

The final accessory are the boots from swaffette Firefly. These are boots for the cowboy who likes his crocodiles on his feet and his buckles around his ankles (and do not ask me about the multiple strange meanings that sentence might spawn). swaffette makes these for both men and women but they seemed more appropriate for my cowboy here.

“Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.” ~ John Wayne

Hair: >TRUTH< Noah – auburn by Truth Hawks for >TRUTH< *

Skin: LaVie Mark Full Beard Normal by KaoZ Koba for LaVie *

Hat: Tidzsi Design stained brown cowboy hat black band copy by Tidzsi Raymaker for Tidzsi Design

Shirt: *Action Mens Slouchy V-Neck – Cocoa by MarilynMonroe Munro for *Action *

Shorts: 22769 Shopping Bag_CamuShorts by Paco Pooley for 22769

Bracelets: Bracelet — Men’s knotted leather and Bracelet — Men’s Domingo silver links by Jon Ree for Mustang Trading Post

Wheat: Wheat by Pepper Finchy sold on XStreetSL

Boots: sf design crocodile dk brown boots by swaffette Firefly for SF Designs *

Written while listening to “Concheperla” by Novalima.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!! ;) (Yes, my RL dad reads my blog because he’s in Second Life. He follows NONE of my fashion advice, however.)