OK so bare with me. I am no fashion blogger- never have been and never will be- BUT I love these tats too much to NOT share.
So, I’ve been wearing iNFLiCTS “Summer Calls” tattoos for awhile. They were my first full body ones and I love them to death.
These new ones however are the ones I originally picked out. They are a little more detailed and Sypher talked me into getting the other ones to “start small” and make sure I liked em before blowing money on these babies.
I am now sporting “So Sparkle The Night” by iNFLiCT! I love them so much <3 here’s some piccys:
I love the uber attention to detail in these. The front is so pretty and feminine. I love butterflies and flowers (okay so I am a complete girly girl sometimes- so shoot me) and how they just wrap around everything.
Here’s the back:
Okay so I’m not the biggest fan of the flying buttcheeks- but other than that I love em. Buns will be covered 99.99% of the time luckily. The owl scene on my back is drawn just amazingly (like the rest of it) and looks almost real.
The set also comes with a different option for the bottom half, not shown here.
My most favorite part is that iNFLiCT comes in ‘darkness’ options: light, medium, dark or tintable! This is the light version of them.
I am so happy with them and hopefully you liked em too!
Check out the tat’s from iNFLiCT here. They are some of the best SL tats in SL that I have seen- perfect seams, wonderful drawings, and look great on the avie itself (not just the pics!)
My daughter Hailey let me know a couple weeks ago about how she wants to go to school at Little Kittens Academy (also known as LKA), a school that is in part run by her friend Candii. I look it over and saw they were hiring and signed up This post is a little review of the school so far and spreading the word to all kid avies!
This is a new kind of school for SL kids. It is set up mostly like college here in the USA. You pick certain classes you want to go to that fit in *your* schedule. Classes are held on all different days of the week, all different times of the day, rather than during a set time. This is a fine arts school, teaching things such as SL building, scripting, and texturing to things that are more RL based such as creative writing, poetry, movie and music discussions. There are many clubs to get involved in as well, such as cheer squad, drama club, and school newspaper.
Here is the description from the notecard you get:
Thank you for your interest in Lil Kittenz Academy of Fine and Performing Arts and SL Skills. LKA for short! LKA will have classes that are useful in your SL life as well as SOME ‘RL’ rp like classes, (aka, English, Creative Writing, etc. No Match or History, etc) but mostly classes where you actually LEARN things useful to SL. We will still RP as kids for the most part…because we are… but will be required to think out of the ‘kids RP box’ from time to time. Lessons may include basic building, scripting, texturing, designing in free art programs, photography in SL, Discussion classes on topics such as movies, fashion, etc, and creative writing and poetry classes… just to name a few.
Their classrooms are very big and open. Perfect for a bunch of chicklets to be able to explore and learn without being crammed together.
Here is the list of classes
Classes:
SL Photography
Building
Creative Writing
Scripting
Music Discussion
Movie Discussion
Poetry
Preschool
Philosophy
Most of those are pretty self-explanitory. The “Preschool” class is for those kid avies that want the roleplay experience in school that a normal kid in RL their age would get. That class will include things like basic math and spelling. They also have hopes that more than these classes will be offered- and are looking for more teachers!
Their main goal is promoting creativity and being yourself. Most of the classes being taught are to learning to express yourself in many different ways. They are also trying to focus *away* from being just a kid and accepting that lots of kids want to do something that will help them in life- both their RL and SL- teaching skills they can use everyday.
There is also going to be a great mixture between classes. An example is for drama club- the plan is to hopefully have building class build the set, if there’s a texture class then they will do that, and hopefully we can find a clothing teacher so the kids can make the costumes. Everyone is going to be involved with each other in some way shape or form to provide a greater sense of community.
There are cute motivational posters and rules posted on all the walls of LKA. Telling you everything from being yourself to remember to wash your hands!
LKA is also offering dorms for those kids who don’t have parents! There is an extra fee- but only 50L/month onto your tuition. The dorms are great with a big tv, furniture, bathroom with showers and toilets, and lots of bunkbeds. You will never be alone at LKA!
Classes are hopefully going to begin on or before January 28th. I will be teaching building class, movie discussion, and running drama club. It is going to be a fun school, and I am so excited! I’ve always wanted to be a part of a school like this, or make my own. Unfortunately, I have no time or money to make mine- so I am excited to be a part of this one!
LKA *is* still hiring! Just use the SLURL below and touch the white board on the left to get an application. We are still looking for texture and clothing designers, or anything else you could possibly think of that could be taught at a liberal arts school. We would love for you to come by and share your skill with us!
If you’re a kid and want to join, or a parent with a child who needs something to do, someone who wants to teach, stop by LKA and join our family- you won’t be sorry you did!
It all started the other day when someone posted the YouTube video for The Cab “Bounce”. I watched it and got totally hooked. It’s a very poppy and almost boy bandish but so awesome it was hard to turn it off. I played it over and over and over, couldn’t get enough of it. Then Miss Ryker Beck posted the following video
“Apologize” by One Republic:
There goes my night. Over and over and over it was played- for well over 3 hours. I have this OCD addiction with music, and it usually only happens when I’m in a funk and this one song is just making me feel better. I repeat it hundreds of time getting myself totally absorbed in the music. It gets to the point where I get this awful feeling in my stomach if I turn it off and I’m not mentally ready to let it go. Like last night people on plurk were sending me other amazing videos/songs and I would go and watch them and inside I was like nooooooooo go back to the other!!! Weird, I know, but everyone has their own problems.
The thing is- I’m not in a real funk. This song isn’t relevant to my life right now (goddamn though I wish I had this in the past to throw at aholes though) and theoretically I shouldn’t be enraptured in it like I am. Not only is the song fantastic- but the video is just WOW. There are so many little details in this video it’s not even funny- so here’s my little dissection of song/video.
The lyrics (posted at the bottom) plus the background music really gives you an overall feeling of the situation. The lyrics are very simple- no need to think about them- you can just sit and listen and understand completely. They are almost like anyone could have written them- it’s real and to the point. I know I’ve said many times to various ex’s “It’s too late to appologize” and telling them that I’ve given my all and they continued to mistreat me. It really makes the song more relatable and the music behind it dress it up with the sounds of the violin and the piano. It’s absolutely beautiful.
Now for the video:
One of the first things I noticed is that it isn’t like your normal video. You never see the full face of the male in it (most music videos have the artist plastered everywhere) but then I saw it wasn’t the “official” video (which is bull- this is amazing) but it made sense on why they didn’t focus on singer- since it’s not the real one. The video is also very simple- but powerful- and it was obvious that they spent loads of time making sure everythign was perfect.
There are two characters in the video- a girl and boy. After watching it a hundred some odd times I get the feeling they are both in the same boat. They both have a significant other that is treating them like crap. In some ways I can see that the boy is telling this to his girlfriend since the girl is reading it- but that could also be taken as the girl is reading the letter over and over waiting to send it to her boyfriend. She does lipsynch the song- which can be taken as either she means it and wants to tell her boof or she’s trying to digest that the boy is super angry at her. I honestly think of it the first way- both boy character and girl are in the same boat and not in a reship with each other.
The male in the video was perfect (for me at least). He was in total character, and even though you never see his full face, you still get so much emotion and energy coming from him. Usually you see him singing into the telephone or playing the violin, but you only see his lips really. Doesn’t matter. You can still totally read that he’s angry and frustrated. There is one shot in it with the phone hanging and he is hunched over and depressed (like any normal person would be given the situation) but when he’s singing it’s obvious he’s angry.
The girl in the video I’m not the biggest fan of. It seemed in some shots of her (like when she’s laying on the glass) it’s taking energy to get in the role of the hurt girl, it’s almost unconvincing. You can, however, still get what they were trying to portray emotion wise. In the beginning of the video when she’s first lipsyncing I got this feeling of frustration and anger- and by the end of it she’s like most girls and crying and depressed, it’s totally sinking in for her that this re’ship is not going to work.
The images in this video are so detailed and vivid and give you instant memories of many things.
The violin and piano are cool- tieing the music into the rest of the video.
I love that they used old school parchment and pens with ink wells. All the lyrics are written on this parchment and you see clips of it through the length. They also use the ink droplets all over- including tears on the girl towards the end. It really ties the letter in- the girl reading it and just having it go over and over and over in her head. Having the ink destroying many objects that can be related to relationships (and marriage) really shows that the letter ended things. The ring was worthless, the doves will not be flying at that wedding, the cake topper of the bride and groom is not going to be needed, and there is no need for the fancy mirror that could be found in a bridal room all because of the letter. Oh and a little cool sidenote- all the ink droplets on the various objects fall in perfect synch with the rhythm. How cool is that? That’s the kind of detail I *love* seeing. I can’t imagine what it took to make sure all those drops came down in perfect harmony.
Having him singing into a telephone rather than a mic is also way cool. Almost as if he’s telling the girl or whatever via telephone. This is another reason why I think the two characters are not connected- he is singing and “telling” his girlfriend via phone whereas she is writing a letter.
There are flowers through the whole video- which are almost always connected to relationships of any way shape or form. How many times does your significant other try sending flowers to make up for whatever stupid thing they did? They bloom at the beginning which reminds me that there is hope- but by the end they burn up.
They also show the purple flowers a couple times. One is already in the vase and the other comes crashing down upsidedown. Another image that shows that hey, relationship is over- one of us tried- but the other, well they suck *drowns them*
A mask is used too, as if one of the people were hiding something. They were fake- they wore a mask over their true personality and refused to fess up and change thinking “sorry” was going to cut it.
Many images that come in two- the flowers, doves, bride and groom, two glasses, the feathers. All of these things eventually getting destroyed in one way shape or form.
The end of the video is very dramatic. The clips of objects become faster and faster and everything either exploding, crushed, or going up in flames. A lightbulb is smashed- showing that there is no way in hell it will ever work again. All the images together is extremely powerful and definitely gets the point across that things are over. The letter is also burned and the very last clip it shows “love you” with the fire slowly taking over even that spot.
I could probably talk more about it- but this is basically everything I think of when watching a video that I adore- I rip it apart and find meaning in everything. I do this especially in videos of this nature because you know that they put these specific objects together for a reason- and it is your job (the viewer) to find meaning in those objects.
So there’s a little glimpse into my mind when it comes to music. Hope you enjoyed the stay! Here’s a pic I made today that reminded me of the video- and the lyrics to the song underneath that! If this post seems disjointed and all over the place it’s because that’s how my mind works
One Republic “Apologize”
I’m holding on your rope,
Got me ten feet off the ground
I’m hearin what you say but I just can’t make a sound
You tell me that you need me
Then you go and cut me down, but wait
You tell me that you’re sorry
Didn’t think I’d turn around, and say…
It’s too late to apologize, it’s too late
I said it’s too late to apologize, it’s too late
I’d take another chance, take a fall
Take a shot for you
And I need you like a heart needs a beat
But it’s nothin new
I loved you with a fire red-
Now it’s turning blue, and you say…
“Sorry” like the angel heaven let me think was you
But I’m afraid…
It’s too late to apologize, it’s too late
I said it’s too late to apologize, it’s too late
Bridge (guitar/piano)
It’s too late to apologize, it’s too late
I said it’s too late to apologize, it’s too late
It’s too late to apologize, yeah
I said it’s too late to apologize, yeah-
I’m holdin on your rope, got me ten feet off the ground…
Downloading Photoshop CS3 (which I think has crashed yet again) so decided to take some free non-SL time to do a post xD
Past two days have been pretty good
Yesterday Jo and I finally got to see In the Pink (which was set up like the Vagina Monologues).. it was AWESOME! So emotional and empowering, was really just a great show! Thanks for everyone who put it on!! Big hugs and kisses to Lauren! Only complaint I have is the lag- other than that the performers were great, other than the normal static from mics, and were really dedicated to each of their roles.
Also finished all of Danni’s ad photos for her clothes, they came out really well. Her store is Purple Penguin Designs.. I’ll throw an SLURL up when I can get into SL.
Jo got to bed early (for once :O he had to get up early in the morning- and it still took fighting to get him to finally go) so after he left Danni and I spent some time together. We went to Bratz & Angelz Adoption Agency to look around to try and figure out where we want to go after the wedding so we can adopt another lil one for Danni to play with. Well while we were there a little girl Amira came in, she was really quiet and ended up leaving… then a little girl Allyson came in who turned out to be Amira’s twin. We talked for awhile, Amira came back and talked with her. We ended up getting a panel and going on trial with them. OMG they are SO adorable and SO funny! I hope they stay with us! They ended up meeting Lai and Kylie as well last night and we all just got along great. Tonight have to introduce them to Jo hehehe!
Today I spent most of my time in RL. Had an eye doctors appointment in the morning then saw Scott. He brought his copy of CS3 with him and a ton of music that I stole. Photoshop CS3 keeps crashing during download so I gotta figure that out.
Mom and I also got into yet another fight about my puter usage and lack of a job etc.
Other than that things are boring and normal as usual xD It’s been so quiet not having concerts with Vie- though going to have school tonight at HKE and gotta talk to Jill about some things. Need to get the building club going as well. *sighs* so much to do.. sucks I’m so lazy xD
Anyways- going to get back into SL since I’m done waiting for photoshop to finally install- I’ll deal with it later or something!
Sorry for the uber emo post before, I’m just in a weird place right now in real life (hence my complete absorption with SL and the new blog- well, more absorption than normal).
ANYWAYS! I was going to do this post last night but because my blog was down I couldn’t do it.
There are now three different clients out (made by LL) of SL with three different user interfaces. I tried out the Windlight client a week or two ago and actually really liked it (minus the placement of the stand up and release keys buttons but they’ve fixed those since then) and yesterday I downloaded the new Dazzle client.
(Note: this is a review of interfaces ONLY!)
Here are some pictures!
First: Normal Client with regular interface
Second: Windlight Client
Third: The newest addition- Dazzle client!
So- we all know the normal interface so I’m going to review just the Windlight and Dazzle interfaces compared to the normal client and against each other.
First up: Windlight Client
Likes!
The new layout in general- it seems smoother and a bit more modern
The icons! Love the new icons at the top next to the land name- they redid them to new pictures so it’s very obvious what they are without having to click on them to get a description. Also like the new icons for music/video/sound- they just look nicer.
I like how the stand up and release keys are hovering a bit above the chat bar. A lot of people don’t like this, but I do, and since this is my blog just deal
Though not in the picture- the new snapshot view is nice. You can choose whether to show or hide some options, with a few new features. I love taking pics in SL so it’s really nice.
Dislikes of Windlight:
I did say I LIKED the icons at the top- and how they are easily interpreted- what I don’t like about them is you can’t see the little red circles to show that you can’t do it in that area. They could either be bigger or a brighter red.
I lag like hell. I know this has nothing to do with the interface but it’s why I don’t use windlight- my puter is one big FAIL (yay for getting into gaming AFTER I get my puter…. laptop + dell = EPIC FAIL!)
I think that’s basically it. I LOVE the Windlight Interface… I would use it as my regular client if I didn’t lag to death. I know a lot of the things are “unneeded” but I like change, sometimes things can be improved to enjoy SL more, and sometimes tweaking little things like the interface can do just that
On to Dazzle!
Likes:
Icon changes! There are minor changes to the land ones from windlight- and they made the signs lighter red! WTG Lindens you did something right! Not only that, but the icons in inventory have changed and look so much cooler! They also put pictures on all the buttons for search/fly/snapshot etc which I like, even though it seems a tad “idiot friendly” I still like it.
It seems much more n00b friendly. Between the new pictures and such it’s a lot more easy to navigate your way around things. It does seem redundant to those of us who have been in SL forever, but if I was starting out in SL and used the normal interface, I would have such a problem trying to figure out what everything is- whereas in this one it’s like “oh duh- you click THAT!”
The new tab things when you’re in “Picks” category in profile. They look cooler with that slant than the edges being round.
Dislikes:
Local chat is back in communicate with IMs. I hated that when they put it out when they first released voice, and I hate it now. Get rid of it- it’s obnoxious and seems to just be confusing having local chat in an IM!
All the pointy edges. I know it’s supposed to look modern- and I kind of like it on the buttons- but not so much the name tags or chat box. Looks nicer with rounded edges. (Besides- with all these pointy edges someone is bound to get hurt- I mean imagine taking one of those name tag corners in the eye!! OUCH!)
The color. I like the light blue buttons but there is just WAY TOO MUCH blue. I like blue, but this is like drowning in blue (almost like how Jo, Danni, and Reina drown themselves in purple except 10 times worse). I liked the gray boxes for like IM and inventory and stuff in the old client, it’s more of a ‘neutral’ color rather than everywhere you look there’s more of the same color, just different shades. If you want to make the client more colorful pick more than one color other than blue- because at this point I’m just drowning in it!
Likes shared by both Windlight and Dazzle:
The info button above the partner window in your profile. This feature ROCKS! At least for those of us who are profile whores. It’s so much easier now to stalk people now that you don’t have to open up search and look for their partner and see what he/she is like and what they wrote about whoever’s profile you looked at first etc etc. Yay! Stalking made easy!
The new talk button is teh awesomez! I love how you can click the arrow to the left of it to see if you’re in a private call (and with who) or in main chat. This is nice for those of us who pay no attention to the blue boxes come up that tell you you’ve been disconnected (or you missed it)
So those are my likes and dislikes of the new clients.
Who wins for me you may ask?
None. There are likes and dislikes of all of them, and many features I could swap around and put into one hybrid client. For now, I’ll probably stick with the normal client because I lag like hell in Windlight and the new color scheme of Dazzle I just want to stab. Luckily, these are only trial clients and not necessarily going to be what the normal client looks like, so stay tuned for updates via Linden Labs! Hopefully they work all the quirks out so they can please the general population of us who spend way too much time in our SLife.
Tootles all!
p.s.
Download either (or both) Dazzle or Windlight here.
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This post is a little review of the school so far and spreading the word to all kid avies!
