Things I haven't seen in SL and why not? LOL

I was talking to a gifted writer earlier today and they related that SL is important to them bc their upbringing was filled with love and tenderness but a bit lacking in adventure. Having the love is paramount but you can not sell youthful adventure short. I, on the other hand, had our family's variation of love. Yeah, it was love. Mostly, as I progressed through the teens and early adulthood, I opted for adventure and ultimately minimal accountability.

Some things I did or happened to me whilst I was a free agent. This list is not all inclusive and hopefully is generally humorous...

Weirdest artistic variation: Years ago, my sister and I saw a performance artist expel canned yams from her cavity. Thank heavens we were not in the front row. To this day, I can't remember if I was laughing or screaming during this "performance". BTW, the yams were still not in the can!!

Gnarliest/Most deranged physical risk taking (multiple occasions: I lived in Hawaii for a bit short of three years. It was not a period of profound personal growth, if you catch my drift. Not a lot to do on the North Shore, so you work at night and recreate during daylight. Once I became acclimated to the speed and power of the surf I took some, in hindsight, ridiculously foolish chances with this life. Surfed big winter waves high on acid about twenty times. It was incredible, I was told I was "on". Years later my aforementioned sister had a psychic reading and was told that our deceased oldest sister served as my guardian angel. When I connect with her I owe her a major apology.

Most terrified: Early adulthood, at least chronologically. Was way down in Mexico near the border of Guatemala. Was at a checkpoint heading to a nearby rivermouth for some waves and some cheap fish for dinner. Ran into an ill-tempered crew of Federales that I imagine had been drinking the better part of the day. Ordered out of our vechicle, at gunpoint, ushered into a adjacent cantina. Wrong place, wrong time scenario in full effect. During the course of our encounter I had a M-16 leveled directly at my chest with a glaring drunk Federale sweaty finger on the trigger. Seemed like the encounter lasted forever, money was exchanged, cerveza was provided for the local law enforcement crew and we were excused. Still remmeber the feel of that same sweaty paw patting the top of my head like I was four years old and the burst of hysterical laughter that came from the cantina as we hurriedly entered the landcruiser to get the fuck out of there! Silent ride to the rivermouth. Upon arrival there, I just got out and walked down the beach about 300 yards and sat down and cried. Sometimes you can come close to a wild time being your last time. Thank you big sis in another world. Ok, this one should really not be available in SL or at last should come with a waiver and counseling.

SL is full of surprises also too! I never imagined the feminine side of Borday.:) I do relate to Crighton differently when Aeryn is in the house. It's true! The good thing about SL is that it is not life and death and it far more controllable. Escape, if needed, is just a click away. To me, IMHO, RL still has a jolt that SL does not. Life is full of trade offs, y'know?

I don't think I'd want my kids to experience these harrowing occurances in anything but SL. I don't know what else to say. Going back to that memory still rattles me...... This blog is done guys...

Power of Music

It is a force! Good and evil, yes indeed. A tool for inspiration and tool for manipulation. But crime prevention? I offer you this tidbit......

Officials in Sydney, Australia, attempted to discourage hooligans from gathering at night in parking lots by playing loud Barry Manilow music. The hooligans stayed away, but the residents were miserable.

Source: Useless information calendar, April 4, 2008

In this country this would have resulted in a media circus, a court injunction by the ACLU and a full scale invasion by the Fanilows. Next internet search: immigration process to Australia.

The importance of Beauty

Well, I have been away from this blog for awhile. Nothing purposeful, just a little writer's block. Just figured I'd wait around till something came to me. It did of course.

My 10 year old son has entered a you tube phase. This coincided with a continuation of a concurrent Red Hot Chili Peppers phase. All in all, he is a pretty happenin 4th grader, but I'm biased:).

So he is searching the you tube collection of RHCP videos, real and independent in origin and we, since I was sitting by him at this point, came across this gem. It is a indie video of the song, Slow Cheetah..........

Take the time to watch this video. It's not a performance video by the band, it is a young filmmakers interpretation of the lyrical content of the song itself. It is definately worth a check and refreshing that others



As I have told you in the past, I work with high school students. Boy this video hit home. So many of the females in this age range, hell in all age ranges in our society try to measure up to some contrived perception of what true feminine beauty is. What is true beauty? We don't have rigid guidelines telling us what photos are worthy of us loving or what paintings should move us,do we? An interesting disconnect and a sad one also.

As a 19 year old I spent about 4 months in New Zealand surfing. You are right, life was hell;). One thing struck me was that women there seemed way more comfortable than there American sisters who torment themselves on a daily basis. I was also struck by the paucity of a concerted media bombardment saying if you aren't this well you just aren't!! That always stuck with me.

I am fortunate to live with two incredibly beautiful females. One is my brown-blonde blue eyed beauty: also known as my wife. Female #2 is a brunette with an avalanche of brown curls that surround the sweetest face a four year old girl could have,also known as my daughter. I make it a point to tell these two stunners how beautiful I think they are as many times a day that I can because I have to attempt to fight the dominant paradigm as daunting as that might be. I hope you also do likewise.

Before I close I want to also address this additional observation I have made. I have known several women that fit in the rare contrived model of what our society deems as beautiful. They likewise face pressures of the sort I could not imagine. How to maintain, its all going away so soon, etc. Generally, they have not been a very content group in many fundamental ways.

Why can't the media just stop being so misogynistic toward females? I really don't get it. This perpetual cycle of abuse cuts across age, race and all other divides. I just don't get it.