Showing posts with label writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writers. Show all posts
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Where I am going, where I have been
I know... you are confused. Wondering how you got here and where it all went. Me too.
First I had the "Diary of a Second Life Courtesan" blog. Talked about Second Life, romance, dating, love, sex, history of sexuality, everything up to and including erotica. Very popular that blog.
Then my life went off on a tangent. (Men. Go figure.) Gave up the courtesan thing. The blog mutated into stories about my Second Life with one man, my friends, fashion, dancing. Later the roller coaster took a dive.
So that blog had to go away. (Yeah. For the man.) So far away that I deleted it ... mostly. Thing about writers is we back up shit all the time. Words. They are precious, you know. Sometimes words are all we have.
And you know me. I never stop writing for long. So next blog: "Dancing Through My Second Life." Talked about friendship, romance, and fashion, all that stuff I was still feeling but not mentioning names.
And I was happy again. So happy for a while that I didn't even have time to blog.
But things are changing again. (Yeah. Men.)
Last night I decided I was done accommodating the men in my life. I mean geez! What a sad sister I have become. Sit around and wait like a china doll on a shelf watching him as he loses interest. Be miserable, unfocused, no sense of reality. Make a choice. Give up one man to make the other one happy and wham! That one puts you back on the shelf too. WTF!
So this morning I decided screw it. I had 900 hits a day on the old Courtesan blog. Went down to 10 a month maybe on the Dancing blog. Here it is fellas. I'm going back to my good old bad ways.
Moved this whole shebang back over to http://tsaijie.blogspot.com/. Gonna write this blog here now. Maybe resurrect the advice from the Courtesan.
So I'm taking it one day at a time. And if the roller coaster takes a dive, well hell, there are lots of fish in the sea. RL? SL? Who knows. Mebbe I'll go be a Companion in a Firefly sim. No strings. No pain.
You see me in-world come say hi. We'll go dancing.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
A Second Life. . . or why am I here?
You are asking yourself what is this woman talking about? A second life? It's true . . . but to really understand my second life, you need to experience Second Life.
I admit it, I am addicted. I'd like to blame Bobby and Amanda who first mentioned it. Or Rhiannon who got me to watch over her shoulder, but the truth is I am a sucker for a good storyline and the beauty of SL is that you can write your own story. It is role playing. It is the holodeck and the replicator (that's Trekker speak) all rolled into one. It is another reality and it is escapism.
So because it was almost summer and I had the time, I joined. Two years ago today. Next I needed money. Gotta buy clothes (don't want to look a total noob) and bling from the designers and the scripters (because SL is also capitalism at its finest). The money here is called "Lindens," and one US real dollar is worth around 250L. So for about the price of a cup of Starbucks coffee I can have 1000 Lindens to play with in the Second Life world(s). Not bad. You don't have to really eat, or mow the grass, or do the dishes (unless you want to--just about anything can be put into gestures, a string of actions that your character or avatar can do). This includes virtual sex. Best of all though is the dancing. Alone on a club floor, in the arms of a handsome avatar, even all by yourself in the moonlight.
And then there is SL sex. Think about it. No bugs to catch. You can say YES. Maybe get money for saying yes, maybe get presents, maybe just do it because you want to connect to a special someone. And you can say NO. And no one can force you. Don't like the guy who is coming on to you? Mute button. He follows you around? Delete him from of your friends list and he can't see you. Corners you? TP (teleport) out. Harrasses you? Report him to the PTB. All in all that adds up to the potential for a lot of fun, and no foul.
Beware, though, SL is addicting. Don't let SL occupy you so much that you forget that you have a Real Life (tm) too. And don't mix them or there is a big broken heart potential. Don't share RL info in SL with anyone you do not know VERY well. Don't be surprised when (if you share SL info with them) RL friends think you need therapy.
A good thing to keep in mind is that this is role playing. Your avatar (your SL body) is both you and not you. You can look anyway you want. In fact, most of the avatars look like gorgeous sexy 20 somethings. Never assume that how the avatar looks is the same as how the person looks in RL! Many of us do try to stick somewhat close to our ideal RL selves. I am, for instance, really an RL blonde, but in RL my eyes are more grey than green or blue. Some of us choose to be another gender, or another creature. I can be a smoke demon. Or a lust demon. In SL we can have any face and hair and body and clothes we want (or can afford). We can have wings, fur, feathers, elf ears, vampire teeth, horns, scales, or tails. I know of one fellow who lives most of his SL life as a Cheetah. I've met another who was a robot. And there is no way to tell what anyone's real age is. All of this is NP (no problem) if we don't lose control, if we don't forget which life is which.
I admit it, I am addicted. I'd like to blame Bobby and Amanda who first mentioned it. Or Rhiannon who got me to watch over her shoulder, but the truth is I am a sucker for a good storyline and the beauty of SL is that you can write your own story. It is role playing. It is the holodeck and the replicator (that's Trekker speak) all rolled into one. It is another reality and it is escapism.
So because it was almost summer and I had the time, I joined. Two years ago today. Next I needed money. Gotta buy clothes (don't want to look a total noob) and bling from the designers and the scripters (because SL is also capitalism at its finest). The money here is called "Lindens," and one US real dollar is worth around 250L. So for about the price of a cup of Starbucks coffee I can have 1000 Lindens to play with in the Second Life world(s). Not bad. You don't have to really eat, or mow the grass, or do the dishes (unless you want to--just about anything can be put into gestures, a string of actions that your character or avatar can do). This includes virtual sex. Best of all though is the dancing. Alone on a club floor, in the arms of a handsome avatar, even all by yourself in the moonlight.
And then there is SL sex. Think about it. No bugs to catch. You can say YES. Maybe get money for saying yes, maybe get presents, maybe just do it because you want to connect to a special someone. And you can say NO. And no one can force you. Don't like the guy who is coming on to you? Mute button. He follows you around? Delete him from of your friends list and he can't see you. Corners you? TP (teleport) out. Harrasses you? Report him to the PTB. All in all that adds up to the potential for a lot of fun, and no foul.
Beware, though, SL is addicting. Don't let SL occupy you so much that you forget that you have a Real Life (tm) too. And don't mix them or there is a big broken heart potential. Don't share RL info in SL with anyone you do not know VERY well. Don't be surprised when (if you share SL info with them) RL friends think you need therapy.
A good thing to keep in mind is that this is role playing. Your avatar (your SL body) is both you and not you. You can look anyway you want. In fact, most of the avatars look like gorgeous sexy 20 somethings. Never assume that how the avatar looks is the same as how the person looks in RL! Many of us do try to stick somewhat close to our ideal RL selves. I am, for instance, really an RL blonde, but in RL my eyes are more grey than green or blue. Some of us choose to be another gender, or another creature. I can be a smoke demon. Or a lust demon. In SL we can have any face and hair and body and clothes we want (or can afford). We can have wings, fur, feathers, elf ears, vampire teeth, horns, scales, or tails. I know of one fellow who lives most of his SL life as a Cheetah. I've met another who was a robot. And there is no way to tell what anyone's real age is. All of this is NP (no problem) if we don't lose control, if we don't forget which life is which.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Jazz and Poetry at O'Brien's in the French Quarter
So last night while Draven and I were out wandering, I got a notice from the Written Word group that Julian Hifeng, journalist, RL poet, and jazz musician, would be playing live jazz and reciting poetry in The French Quarter at a pub called O'Brien's.
How could we resist? Draven loves jazz and all things New Orleans, I love poetry and any music. And besides it was a chance to spend time together!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Blog Carnival: the Progressive Dinner
Today begins another blog carnival in which I have been privileged to contribute!
This is a veritable smörgåsbord of blog styles and interesting writing, so as I head out for a weekend at a writer's conference in NYC I invite you to stick around and satisfy your hunger for good blogging by sampling the offerings here:
Begin your "dinner" with drinks and hors d'oevres at Kilroy's place. Sample his interesting fare, then follow his directions to the next course . . .
. . . where you can nibble your way through many appetizing tidbits at Isabella's. . . .
. . . At the next stop Fallen Words is serving soup--36 recipes worth! (Be sure to look for my addition, something Writerwoman is calling "Mexican Red Onion Soup"--spicy!). . . .
. . . Still hungry? Hearty and filling entrees are served byAnja who then directs you to . . .
. . . some sweet treats at Fiction Scribe for the dessert portion of your meal. . . .
. . . Last, but hardly least, wander by Anthony's place for after dinner drinks and pleasant conversation!
If you enjoyed this little trip through the blogosphere, look at what else is coming up! The hosts of Soup to Nuts will be putting on a variety of other carnivals. They'd like to invite you to join in for these upcoming events:
Bon Appetite!
This is a veritable smörgåsbord of blog styles and interesting writing, so as I head out for a weekend at a writer's conference in NYC I invite you to stick around and satisfy your hunger for good blogging by sampling the offerings here:
Begin your "dinner" with drinks and hors d'oevres at Kilroy's place. Sample his interesting fare, then follow his directions to the next course . . .
. . . where you can nibble your way through many appetizing tidbits at Isabella's. . . .
. . . At the next stop Fallen Words is serving soup--36 recipes worth! (Be sure to look for my addition, something Writerwoman is calling "Mexican Red Onion Soup"--spicy!). . . .
. . . Still hungry? Hearty and filling entrees are served byAnja who then directs you to . . .
. . . some sweet treats at Fiction Scribe for the dessert portion of your meal. . . .
. . . Last, but hardly least, wander by Anthony's place for after dinner drinks and pleasant conversation!
If you enjoyed this little trip through the blogosphere, look at what else is coming up! The hosts of Soup to Nuts will be putting on a variety of other carnivals. They'd like to invite you to join in for these upcoming events:
- Anthony is hosting the Surfer's Paradise Hullabaloo! Carnival, on February 18th. There's only one guideline for submissions --Send your most interesting posts.
- Kilroy_60 is hosting the Gonzo Gratitude! Carnival (What are you thankful for?), at The Gonzo Papers, on February 15th
- Isabella is hosting not one, not two, but, yes, three carnivals in February at Change Therapy. Her Buddhist Carnival runs February 15th, the Carnival of Eating Disorders runs February 22nd and Canada 9-5, a showcase for Canadian Business Blogs, runs February 28th.
- JM is hosting the Scribes Carnival at Fiction Scribe on February 4th. (My birthday!)
- Anja is hosting the Carnival of Observations on Life at Anja Merret - Chatting To My Generation on February 17th. She then hosts the Personal Power carnival on February 23rd.
Bon Appetite!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
The Carnival is in town! A Blog Carnival!
One of the more fun things about my life in SL is that it got me to return to blogging. And one of the more fun things about blogging is the variety of people you can meet. If you don't believe me just take a look at the link list I have accumulated! All very creative people, thinking and writing and connecting and sharing.
Now some of those very creative people are getting together to create a Blog Carnival. Remember when you were a kid and the carnival came to town? All the new things to see, rides to try, foods to taste? A Blog Carnival is like that! A veritable sampler of all that is interesting in the Blogoverse. So come to the Blog Carnival and see:
Now some of those very creative people are getting together to create a Blog Carnival. Remember when you were a kid and the carnival came to town? All the new things to see, rides to try, foods to taste? A Blog Carnival is like that! A veritable sampler of all that is interesting in the Blogoverse. So come to the Blog Carnival and see:
on Monday, December 10th
For Your Success will be the host blog
I want to also give my very special thanks to Kilroy for letting me know about this Blog Carnival!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Sex not most important thing in SL?
Thursday, Nov 8, 2007, Eric Reuters published a piece called "Study finds sex, gambling not major Second Life" on the SL Reuters News Center that tells us not as many people are interested in cybersex as we all thought:
If there’s no “goal” to Second Life, no monsters to kill or experience points to collect, why do so many people log on and spend so much time there? Everyone has their theories, but a new academic study suggests cybersex and gambling are less of a lure than is often assumed. Noble Pierre-Etienne (Second Life: Wolkam Winger) and Angelica Ortiz (Second Life: Angelyka Klata) surveyed 657 residents about their Second Life usage. Only 13.6 percent said they “often” or “always” practice cybersex, and 2.2 percent patronized casinos regularly. The data was collected shortly before the gambling ban, Pierre-Etienne told Reuters.
“It’s not a perfectly representative sample, but that’s not the goal,” Pierre-Etienne said. He advertised the study through various blogs like Wagner James Au’s New World Notes. “You’ll find more Swedish people in our study because it was discussed on Swedish blogs.”
Pierre-Etienne is submitting the data as part of his thesis at the Toulouse Business School on the marketing potential of virtual worlds. His partner Ortiz, a native of Mexico, is examining the same data from a psychological perspective for the Swedish National Institute of Public Health.
“The data shows the most engaging activities in Second Life are shopping and socializing,” Ortiz said. There’s a direct correlation between overall usage and participation in cybersex, with the more committed users more likely to digitally consummate. “I think people want to try everything,” she said.
Regina Lynn, who writes about Second Life relationships for her “Sex Drive” column at Wired.com, isn’t surprised. “I think romance is much bigger than cybersex in Second Life,” Lynn said. “Just like there is more flirtation and come-hither and ooh-la-la in a bar than actual going home with someone to have sex.”
I see a couple of things here that these intrepid researchers may have missed. For one thing, if their demographic is skewed to Scandinavian countries (like Sweden) maybe we ought to pay attention to the fact that there are fewer hangups about sex in RL in those places. Maybe those people who are able to have sex without guilt in RL don't need to have sex in SL. No one seems to be asking the question why have sex in SL? To which, of course, the answer is you don't need it in SL if you are getting satisfactory sex in RL. I would bet on a close correlation between those who have virtual sex and those who live in more puritanic social groups that frown on extra- or pre-marital sex. Let's survey only Americans or Brits (who are the ones I have found most likely to want SL sex regularly) and I bet those percentages rise.
Here's another interesting tidbit: I've met more romantic men (the kind who like to take you dancing, romance you, and flirt first) from New England (Boston in particular) than from any other place. The Californians I've met are pushier (wanting slave or BDSM sex, but always trying to talk their way out of paying for it), and Midwesterners split along genderlines: the men don't want/like virtual sex (and sometimes not even real sex) while the women are out there swinging in many directions.
Now granted this is from an even smaller sample than the aforementioned study and reflects only my clients and friends and my own observations. But I still say that, on the whole, those who go for cybersex are filling a need that is missing in their RLs. SL is first and foremost a social network--but whether you use it to make business contacts, new friends, or to find sex, romance, or the love of your life is all going to depend on your own personal needs. No matter what you need from SL, I say go find what makes you happy and when you find it, enjoy it all you can.
If there’s no “goal” to Second Life, no monsters to kill or experience points to collect, why do so many people log on and spend so much time there? Everyone has their theories, but a new academic study suggests cybersex and gambling are less of a lure than is often assumed. Noble Pierre-Etienne (Second Life: Wolkam Winger) and Angelica Ortiz (Second Life: Angelyka Klata) surveyed 657 residents about their Second Life usage. Only 13.6 percent said they “often” or “always” practice cybersex, and 2.2 percent patronized casinos regularly. The data was collected shortly before the gambling ban, Pierre-Etienne told Reuters.
“It’s not a perfectly representative sample, but that’s not the goal,” Pierre-Etienne said. He advertised the study through various blogs like Wagner James Au’s New World Notes. “You’ll find more Swedish people in our study because it was discussed on Swedish blogs.”
Pierre-Etienne is submitting the data as part of his thesis at the Toulouse Business School on the marketing potential of virtual worlds. His partner Ortiz, a native of Mexico, is examining the same data from a psychological perspective for the Swedish National Institute of Public Health.
“The data shows the most engaging activities in Second Life are shopping and socializing,” Ortiz said. There’s a direct correlation between overall usage and participation in cybersex, with the more committed users more likely to digitally consummate. “I think people want to try everything,” she said.
Regina Lynn, who writes about Second Life relationships for her “Sex Drive” column at Wired.com, isn’t surprised. “I think romance is much bigger than cybersex in Second Life,” Lynn said. “Just like there is more flirtation and come-hither and ooh-la-la in a bar than actual going home with someone to have sex.”
I see a couple of things here that these intrepid researchers may have missed. For one thing, if their demographic is skewed to Scandinavian countries (like Sweden) maybe we ought to pay attention to the fact that there are fewer hangups about sex in RL in those places. Maybe those people who are able to have sex without guilt in RL don't need to have sex in SL. No one seems to be asking the question why have sex in SL? To which, of course, the answer is you don't need it in SL if you are getting satisfactory sex in RL. I would bet on a close correlation between those who have virtual sex and those who live in more puritanic social groups that frown on extra- or pre-marital sex. Let's survey only Americans or Brits (who are the ones I have found most likely to want SL sex regularly) and I bet those percentages rise.
Here's another interesting tidbit: I've met more romantic men (the kind who like to take you dancing, romance you, and flirt first) from New England (Boston in particular) than from any other place. The Californians I've met are pushier (wanting slave or BDSM sex, but always trying to talk their way out of paying for it), and Midwesterners split along genderlines: the men don't want/like virtual sex (and sometimes not even real sex) while the women are out there swinging in many directions.
Now granted this is from an even smaller sample than the aforementioned study and reflects only my clients and friends and my own observations. But I still say that, on the whole, those who go for cybersex are filling a need that is missing in their RLs. SL is first and foremost a social network--but whether you use it to make business contacts, new friends, or to find sex, romance, or the love of your life is all going to depend on your own personal needs. No matter what you need from SL, I say go find what makes you happy and when you find it, enjoy it all you can.
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