Song for a strange Friday: Never Too Late

This world will never be
What I expected
And if I don't belong
Who would have guessed it...

Even if I say
It'll be all right...
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late...

The world we knew
Won't come back
The time we've lost
Can't get back
The life we had
Won't be ours again...

And I have left alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like
It's not too late
It's never too late...

Song from Jamesen for Tsai: "Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places" by Johnny Lee

Missed a date tonight with Jamesen (insert sad face here) because an RL function ran too long. But sweet man that he is he understood and sent me the lyrics to a song.  This song:



I've spent a lifetime looking for someone
Single bars and good time lovers, never true
Playing a fools game, hoping to win
Telling those sweet lies and losing again.

I was looking for love in all the wrong places
Looking for love in too many faces
Searching your eyes, looking for traces
Of what.. I'm dreaming of...
Hopin' to find a friend and a lover
God bless the day I discover
Another heart, lookin' for love

When I was alone then, no love in sight
And I did everything I could to get me through the night
Don't know where it started or where it might end
I turn to a stranger, just like a friend

I was looking for love in all the wrong places
Looking for love in too many faces
Searching your eyes, looking for traces
Of what.. I'm dreaming of...
Hopin' to find a friend and a lover
God bless the day I discover
Another heart, lookin' for love

Memories...

I have spent the last few days... well, the last week or so really, ever since Valis disappeared, collecting all my memories of it. I have always been a SL shutterbug. Problem is I have photos scattered across at least 4 computers/laptops (and let's not talk about the many flash and portable hard drives). The thing is SL is just so damn pretty. And in SL we are so damn pretty. And there are all those magic moments.

It is hard to not get caught up in the magic of Second Life, in the "SL effect"--that sense that the things that happen in the virtual world are sometimes more real than your real world. It is true, it can be dangerous and even painful to expect too much from a virtual world. To believe in the game. But here's the thing: in SL we are real people, too. I don't want to think of SL as a distraction from my real world--I like my RL. I think of SL as a beautiful addition to my life. Enrichment. I have met more people that I would never have had the chance to meet. I have learned how beautiful it can be to love someone in SL. I refuse point blank to believe that love is ever a bad thing. Or that happiness, however fleeting, is bad either. I refuse to think that time spent with another person, caring about, getting to know that person, intimately: mind, body, and soul--no matter what ever happens in the long run--I refuse to think that kind of connection is ever a mistake.

So I have been gathering my memories, of Valis, and of Firefly before it. Of Draven. Of Heron and Wren, Hawk, Mal. Of Dabrin, and of Jinara, Jhai, and Noir. Of everyone who came, and so briefly lived, and loved someone at Valis. I am gathering all my pictures--all my memories. And putting them up in Flickr.

Right here... where I can look and remember. And never regret a single moment.

Song du Jour: Regina Spektor "On the Radio"

The Good / The Not So Good

It has been an odd week and a half for me. Some good, some not so good.

Not good: I lost my best friend. We'd had fights before. But I guess I always had faith that the friendship would survive. We'd blow up, then we'd talk. This time? Not so much. He's gone.

Good: I discovered some things about myself. I am an incurable optimist. I still believe that love and friendship can survive anything if both sides are willing to try. I still hope that someday we can be friends again.

Not good: I lost the only place I ever called home in SL. I should have known it was coming. I did know. But it still felt like getting a rug pulled out from under me.

Good: I found new land in Zindra, in McGavet. I was only half-heartedly looking, but I found a parcel that the previous owner had named "Serendipity Cove." I figured that was too serendipitous to pass up. And the price was right. The tier was, too. So I bought it.

Not so good: I have no one to share it with.

Kind of good: Another thing I discovered about myself this week is that I am at heart a nest-builder. That will be no surprise to anyone who knows me in RL. I am forever making over, rearranging, remodeling, and shopping for my RL home. When stressed I tend to head for Pier 1, Bed Bath & Beyond, or Home Depot. Even changing the colors of the bathroom towels and soaps can make my day. So it should be no surprise that rebuilding in a new space in SL was fairly theraputic as well. And I needed that therapy.

Neither good nor bad: There is some irony in the fact that I (once again) made a romantic spot to hang out in SL. Dancing, cuddles, and even sex animations. Waterfalls, pools, and gardens. I did mention that I am an incurable optimist, didn't I? And even if the man I would most like to share it with is no longer interested in me, well, at least perhaps I can make a nice place for other lovers to visit, to play.

So keep watching, I'll post pictures as I change the seasons at Serendipity Cove and redecorate regularly. Feel free to come by with your loved one and enjoy the facilities, make yourself at home.

Siren Synapse in sick city

Saw this first on Harper Ganesvoort's cool blog. Of course it is a Torley Linden video... Now I wanna explore sick city!

Bettina's Back -- Straight from the pages of Wagner James Au's New World Notes

Bettina's Back: Second Life's Art Maven Returns To Blogging, But Better Than Ever

When Bettina Tizzy announced she was suspending her NPIRL blog a few weeks ago, there was understandable sadness, for the woman near single-handedly catalyzed a metaverse art movement from hundreds of disparate talents. As it turns out, however, she's simply upgraded her blog into a better form:

Behold Bettina's new blog: Not Possible IRL - A Digital Shoebox

As that name suggests, it's a compilation of short and punchy posts (using Posterous), mostly devoted to art created in Second Life, but also OpenSim and other medium. Frankly I think it's a more ideal use of Bettina's tastemaking talent, than the old text-heavy, post-light blog. Though it's not even a fortnight old, it's already bursting with tasty posts. Just go forth and read already, and be sure to RSS on your way out.

Pictured: Kikas Babenco and Marmaduke Arado's wearable art.

Reblogged from New World Notes

Song for a silent Sunday: The Engine Driver by the Decemberists

And I am a writer, writer of fictions
I am the heart that you call home
And I've written pages upon pages
Trying to rid you from my bones

I am a writer, I am all that you have hoped on
And I've written pages upon pages
Trying to rid you from my bones
My bones
My bones

Poetry on a Daily Basis

Found this poem on Poetry Daily. Something about the imagery, and the metaphors evoked, just touches me. I remember too clearly the feel of "salt-sewn eyes." You probably do, too.

You can find the original poem in the Georgia Review.

I love my Blackberry

So I got a new app for my BB. Cellspin. And now I can blog from anywhere--even my bedroom.

This is just a test run to see if it works!

Tsai in Valis

Tsai in Valis, originally uploaded by Tsai Jie.


Evening, That moment of peace when the sun touches the horizon and you close your eyes to feel the last rays on your face. It is then when we think about all the things we have seen and done during the day. All the words spoken and unspoken, all the people we love. Hopes. Dreams. Tomorrows.