first rez of the year

first rez of the year
Originally uploaded by Queen Coronet

first rez of the year, or so it seems. I think this is the first box that
I've rezzed in forever. Do you think it's pretty?

Oh yeah, and this is also a good reminder as to why it takes me so long to
get things done. I started on a task and then decided I'd better blog this.
ffs.

Gratuitous Piccy: Sunday Morning @ Sol's

Sunday Morning
Originally uploaded by solangedaviau
I couldn't resist sharing this picture because not only has Solange Daviau's artistry progressed amazingly in the past several months she also does it surrounded by the most gorgeous home and garden accessories from Queen & Co. (oh hey, that's my shoppy!) Make sure you check out the rest of her photo stream....umm....after the kids have gone to bed.

Queen & Co. Skybox - oooh pretty!

This prettiest skybox includes a built in sparkling waterfall, crystal chandelier, all wrapped up in a bright pink bow!  55 prims, 30 x 15 footprint.

Available here: xstreetsl.com
and here: My Shoppy!!


And check out this blog, Keeping Track, that prominently* features one of the skyboxes i gifted out at the Juicy celebration!!

*exaggeration added to give the author an appearance of importance in this great world wide web that we live in.

UPDATE: Check out Uccello Poultry's review at The Poultry Report.

Where has everyone gone?

I'm coming up on my 3rd rez-day this month and could not help but to reflect on my experiences in Second Life during the last 3 years. Today my mind wandered to the people I have met and began to wonder where have so many of them gone? There have been several people that I knew very well and considered my closest friends in SL and they have disappeared from existence. It's really so sad to me that these people are gone. Although I wonder if it is them I miss or rather the peaceful intimacy that I experienced with each of them.

Take for example, Andrew...I met him at a wall of freebie textures. He was one of my first friends. He encouraged me to build and to set up shop. He'd make little trinkets for me like wings scripted with a caging device. He began to spend more time in his RL and eventually we spent less time together. Tonight I took a peek at his profile, which led me to a dead xstreetsl.com link. I looked a little further and discovered that he's been wiped from SL. Gone.

White taught me to build. He had an amazing way with prims and I was lucky to have him as a teacher. He also encouraged me to make silks and put them out in a store. It was because of him that I opened up my silk shop. I enjoyed the time he and I spent together building...hours of prim torture can be enjoyable when done with friends. And he too is gone.

And Wolf was always a good friend to me. He listened intently and made brilliant suggestions when I was having difficulties in SL and RL. He always greeted me warmly and showed his appreciation for me. Eventually he became overwhelmed with women constantly vying for his attention. But then again, that's what happens when one runs a fetish club. It was too much for him and he removed himself from SL. Another one gone.

There are maybe a handful more of people that I knew better than most and today you would barely be able to find a trace of them. I suspect that some of them are living lives as an alt. And if that is the case I can't help but to be put off that they are out there and can see me, while I will never know what became of them.

I scratch my head as I ponder where these people have gone. Have I run them off? Do other people in SL have a history filled with voids where avatars used to be? Why is it that my friends not only leave me, but they leave their avatars behind as well. Is it me? It's them, right?

Reflections of a Shopkeeper: Location - Style and Aesthetics

For a long time now I've have a small corner shop at Juicy and specialized in wedding rings and custom jewelry.  I recently have taken an interest in larger builds including residential structures, furniture and landscaping.  I found that my tiny shop was bursting a the seams and I decided to take a sizable parcel on the corner of the sim. As I venture forth on my journey into shop-keeping I'm finding plenty of challenges and surprises worth sharing. And so I begin a new segment entitled: Reflections of a Shopkeeper.

Location - Style and Aesthetics:
I started out a bit anxious to get into something big and as soon as Gogo, my landlady, said she had a space available I grabbed it.  However I didn't take a lot of time to think about how my shop would fit into the location.  It was a nice corner lot with a good view. But it was sandy and beachy and my shop concept is (will be eventually) a lush green garden. I really struggled to make things work, but the build just was not "clicking" for me. I mentioned to Gogo that i loved the grass she had put in for the Juicy Birthday event and she should keep it.  She suggested that I move over to the Juicy del Mar sim.  It took me a few hours of deliberating because I had already put Landmarks in everything and pasted my SLURL everywhere.  But I stood at the Juicy del Mar parcel for awhile and realized it was where I needed to be. The moment I rezzed the first prim I knew I had made the right choice. And so I present to you: Queen & Co. @ Juicy del Mar:


If you're thinking about opening a shop or moving your shop it's so important to consider not only the pricing, but the environment and location. The parcel I have sits on a green landscaped and somewhat whimsical sim. It works so well for me, but I know others that would be much better suited to a completely different style. Take a little time to find something that fits your aesthetic. It will make your experience so much more enjoyable.  You'll also save yourself time and frustration if you can find the right location first time around because you'll avoid having to update slurls and LMs everywhere.

I think people like stability in their shopping so try not to make a move too often.  HOWEVER, if you're not "feeling it" then find something else. There's no reason to make yourself unhappy. Shop-keeping doesn't have to be and should not be all about the L$s. You've got to enjoy what you're doing and where you're doing it and choosing the right location is a great start towards success.  Right?

Gratuitous Piccy: Dancing at UFOWATCHTOWER with the Star Trek Crew

I have been using flickr for over two years now. Most of the pictures I take are from snapshots in-world and once in a great while I'll make an attempt at some photoshop fanciness. Consequently I have very few pictures that get a lot of action. When I do have a picture with a lot of view I can't help but to wonder why. And so I give you this:

It is a picture of me dancing at UFOWATCHTOWER with the Star Trek Crew. AND, it got 91 views in less than a day. That's a lot of views. I can only imagine that it is either the "UFO" or the "Star Trek" and if that's the case I'm moving to outer space.

I made a FANCY Slurl! and you can too!

I made a fancy slurl for my shoppy!! And if you click here you can see the result.

YOU can do it too if you're so inclined by using the soooo easy SLURL builder. It will create a slurl that directs people to a location inworld and allows you to customize the slurl to include a title, a picture and a short message.

You'll need to have
1. The slurl information (here's a Torley post on slurls) for the location you desire
2. A URL for the picture (if you don't have one you can use a photo hosting site. i like flickr.) , and
3. A few words to include in the description. (generally you'll want to arrange them into a cohesive phrase or sentence.)

This is what the fancy slurl maker can do:


And if you click this link and use the slurl in-world you can click on this:


Or buy one of these:

special thanks to Mr. Gauge Laville for dangling his own fancy slurl in my face and inspiring me to seek out my own.

Pearls of Wisdom: It's OK to take a break.

Last night I was busy in SL diddling with some builds in my workshop while in RL I was tending to a creature recovering from the flu. In the midst of it all I received the most uncomfortable notice "XXX has dissolved your friendship." This is a strange feature included in the Emerald Viewer and while I find it interesting to know when I am dropped from a friends list, it leaves me wondering, "Wha?! What did i do?!" I deliberated for a few minutes and decided that my relationship with this person was important enough that I could not just let her go. I sent a quick IM to her letter her know and we had a conversation for a few minutes.

As it turns out she recently lost a dear loved one. And, as a result she's taking some time to evaluate her priorities and set her lives in order. For the moment SL just isn't very high on her list. And so she was engaging in some SL cleansing. I've done this so I am familiar with the process. It usually occurs when a person becomes disenchanted by SL or the people in their SLives. Thier profile gets cleaned of all but those that are the very closest, their friends list is pared down to a minimum, land is sold off, and in some cases inventory is purged. (ugh, i'm squirming just thinking of that extreme.) Often the external internet presence is also given a once over (i.e. plurk vacation, flickr accounts gone private, blogs put on hold.)

It astonished me that in our conversation she was very careful to assure me that it was not anything that I had done. Her words were laced with guilt for leaving friends behind in SL. I could sense the tug she felt between her desire to experience more in her RL and the obligation she felt to the friendships in her SL. My heart goes out to my friend and to others like her that feel torn between the two worlds. I'm not sure there is anything but experience that can teach a person how to cope in that situation, but I can assure you that it's possible to have both lives.

For those of you that are taking a break. It's OK. RL comes first. You're not abandoning anyone. We know this is hard for you and we'll support you in your decision.

For those of you that have a friend taking a break. It's OK. RL comes first. You're not being abandoned. This is hard for your friend that is leaving. Make sure they know that you support their decision. Let them go in peace. Please.


Queen & Co. Crying Plant #1
Available here.

Gratuitious Piccy: +blacklisted+ in my own garden

Mr. Gauge Laville has created the most prettiest gardening attire ever! Available at his shoppy here. The colors are gorgeous and vibrant. oooh, and the cut of the bra and panties is unique and sexy. Get you some!!
Glitterati pose: Breast Cancer Awareness - Singles 6 - Available here for 0L as part of a campaign for...yes, Breast Cancer Awareness.

Happy Belated Rezz-day _____ !

I just realized that the first time I ever rezzed an avatar in Second Life was October 15, 2006. I'm a little stunned that I'm still here 3 years later. Perhaps at a later date I'll reflect more on what that 3 years means to me. But this post is for my darling first avatar. I won't tell you her name. Maybe because for as open as I am in SL, I like the idea of having at least one thing that I keep to myself. She spends no time in world, and the few friends she had are long gone, but it would not be right to let her 3rd rezz-day pass without some acknowledgment of her existence. Happy Rezz-day darling, see you next year.

And here she is, enjoying one of her very first days of Second Life, on a floaty at a nude beach. Perfect.

Queen & Co. Skybox - Skully-boo!

I made a cute lil' skybox with super low primmage (37) and small enough to fit a 512 parcel. It's got delicious colors and in the spirit of the season I've pasted skeleton heads all over it. In addition, there's a gorgeous waterfall wall that falls into a small sparkling pool. You NEED this! It's available in my shop and I've marked it at 5oL through the 31st.

Stuff you NEED: Star Shutter Sunglasses

You need these:

Star Shutter Sunglasses, created by Nuck Spyker, are available on Xstreet SL for only 25L but i dunno how long so get them now. and a pair for your friends. Check out Nuck's other stuff while you're there. He creations are unusual, and so well done. And who doesn't need a big mouth stage? really. who?

Simple Pleasures

I spent the day building and it was wonderful. In the morning I was treated to a few hours of tunes from a shirtless friend. In the afternoon my swine flu suffering friend spent time discussing design challenges with me while he faded in and out of a codeine trance. Eventually it was time to say good night to all the good little prims and return to my tranquil home. I wasn't yet ready for bed so I took my T-rex, kissyface, out for a walk around the island. We visited the nighbor's chicken coops until kissyface got a little rambunctious and I had to take him home. On the way we stopped at a friend's and she gave kissyface a delicious bone. I got an ice cream. Sometimes happiness really is that simple.

DIRTY BEATS FILTHY WAREHOUSE////// MIXED-REALITY EVENT!

This week DIRTY BEATS & DIRTY COUTURE present a series of parties featuring some of SL's top DJs. On Saturday they Dirty Beats SIM will host a party all day and into the night finished off by a mixed reality event featuring RL DJs streaming from a NYC warehouse party into SL's Club Dirty Beats. Check out the details below and be sure to come out to support our SL DJs!!!

..:://DIRTY BEATS & DIRTY COUTURE::..
Proudly Present Their Presence In Secondlife!
We Cordially Invite You To Check Out Our New Sim!

The party runs through the week:
MON 8/10 Dane Koba - 1pm-3pm
TUES 8/11 GW Raymaker - 1pm-3pm
WED 8/12 Victoryan Bailey 1pm-3pm
THURS 8/13 Jimi Cheng - 1pm-3pm
FRI 8/14 Init Hubble 1pm-3pm

AND All day, Saturday, August 15, 2009:
SAT Rocco Silverstar 11am-1pm
SAT Bridgitte Boucher 1pm-3pm
SAT Kromus Korobase 3pm-5pm
SAT Jaycee Kass 5pm-7pm
SAT Digital Francis 7pm-9pm
SAT - ALL-DAY Party TBA Followed by REAL LIVE STREAM From Brooklyn, NY At The Filthy Warehouse Party! ***FIRST-TIME SL APPEARANCE FROM DIRTY BEATS & DIRTY COUTURE, Real Life House Label and Clothing Brand! RL/SL Mixed Reality Event!!



Filthy Warehouse Info:
A Little Old Warehouse in Brooklyn...
Starring DJ's Aluv Joe Lodi & Dave Rosario
The Place...A Little Old Warehouse in Brooklyn is an event that is being thrown in a Warehouse in Williamsburg Brooklyn which is 5 Mins from NYC. The event is Starring RL DJs Aluv and Joe Lodi aka Luv & Lodi along with up and coming Dj Producer Dave Rosario. Dirty Beats is taking it back to basics with this event. Aluv and Joe Lodi are no new comers to the scene. Together over the last 12 years they both have either promotionally directed djed or have installed sound in every club in NYC Miami or Vegas. They are most known for running the Soundfactory from 1997 to 2000 and were the first promoters who helped Jonathan Peters boost his career to where he is now. These guys are very well respected in the business and are trying to create something new and fresh in NYC.

Gratuitious Piccy: Me!!

Queen
Originally uploaded by Billynom8 Mopp

piccy of my taken by Billynom8 Mopp @ United Beats. lookit!!! it's me!!

Better Homes and Queenie's Garden

My garden was chosen as the backdrop for this promotional picture for an upcoming amplifiedigital.com release coming out August 15th! I'm so pleased to see that all that digging, pruning and watering has paid off. The amplified project was created and is operated by DJ Ampz aka DJAmpz Dinzel who also does a weekly radio show on amplifiedradio.com (check this site for lots of great mixes to download!!)

Happy 2nd Rezday, winirose runo!!

Today one of my dearest friends, winirose Runo, celebrates her 2nd rezday. She's full of wisdom, love, and joy and I'm blessed to have her in my lives. In honor of her rezday I've marked several items in my shop to 0L. (click here for the slurl) Please feel free to invite friends over to share in the pressies. AND if you get a spare moment, drop winirose a rezday greeting. HAPPY 2ND REZDAY, WINIROSE!!!

Portrait of a DJ - Bridgitte Boucher

QC: ok, ready for your interrogation?
BB: yep
QC: What style of music do you play?
BB: I enjoy playing a lot of different genres. Sometimes I enjoy mixing minimal and techno, tech house, other times I like to mix electro and indie dance....I always enjoy throwing in something unusual here and there...
BB: I love ska, punk rock, and of course, indie and rock...my roots in music
QC: Why do you DJ or, what motivates you?
BB: hmmm. Here's the poetic answer. I'm totally motivated by the beats and the sounds I can create with a mixer, and the way it moves people. Sound is amazing manipulator of the mind. But really, I wouldn't be doing all of this if it wasn't for Init. He saw it in me and pushed me to go for it. So really, I have him to thank.
QC: (wow, you both amaze me. did you know that?)
BB: oh i do? *wipes crumbs from mouth*
Bridgitte Boucher smiles
Queen Coronet sighs and moves on...
BB: lol
QC: When you aren't DJing what do you like do in SL?
BB: I love seeing new places in sl...the AM radio builds amaze me....the art sims always have amazing creations...and shopping of course...but mostly I like to hang with my friends and hear tunes.
BB: lol
BB: oh i said amazing twice...insert an appropriate adjective to replace amazing for me
QC: oooh, i don't like to edit. i prefer you in the raw.
BB: amazing!
BB: and of course, i'm partnered...i spend a lot of time with Ideal
QC: and i don't think that came out the way i intended. just make that your catch phrase. Amazing!
BB: Amazing! :D
QC: Where can you be found playing?
BB: I'm usually playing at Drain, Tir Na Gra, Nick Nack, Somewhere....random parties @ Rouge....the Naughty Box of course....and special events here and there.
QC: Anything else you want the world to know?
BB: I need to give props to Thinker Moy and Justine Perenti for giving me my first opportunities to spin in clubs here in sl, Alphabox and at HOME. I am in awe of the electronic music community that we are a part of here on sl, and the level of talent that is represented, so I am always humbly grateful for any opportunity to spin for any audience among such great djs. I appreciate all of my friends who have been so supportive and HOO at the right times during my sets. Lol. P.s. My panties are for sale in the lobby.
QC: You're great, B!! Thankies!!!

DJ Briddy "The Diva" Boucher mixes can be downloaded from Soundcloud, xstreamist.com, and SL Bootlegs (itunes).

Happy Birthday to Rouge Sim

A year ago Codebastard Redgrave opened up the Rouge sim. Since then Rouge has blossomed into an amazing multi-purpose environment. Today we celebrated the anniversary with 12 hours of entertainment featuring DJs Asrael Hax, Amanda Shinji, Nexeus Fatale, Bridgitte Boucher, Adamatic Aeon and Fine Caliber. In addition the guests were treated to a special performance presented by Glamouramama Boa and her amazing group of SLag dancers with music by DJ xSaraho Mornington.
Thank you to everyone that came out to celebrate and congratulations to Codie for one year of Rouge!!!!
Here's a couple of pics and you can find more here and here.
Codebastard Redgrave:

Gabby Panacek:

The SLag Dancers:

Gratuitous Piccy: Next month's GQ cover

mainit Hellman, owner of [BauStein] (pre-fabs, bridges, and more) in this season's MUST HAVE accessory, the birthday cake hat.