if this is to end in fire

Someone explain this to me. The Linden designers invented mesh, and brought it onto the grid, intending it only to be used for avatar parts (hair, eyes) and objects (homes, furnishings, landscaping), but never for clothing?

I guess this is equivalent to the Lindens developing Second Life in the first place and never once contemplating there would be a burgeoning sex industry growing in the game, right? Because that seems a sort of willful blindness, or at the least thumping obliviousness, after everything else the Lindens have seen happen.

So where are we on mesh clothing, after the death of Qarl's mesh deformer? Well, now we have fit bones, which designers are slowly starting to integrate. The down side to the new fit system is that it requires far more work and manipulation to properly align all the new fit points for mesh clothing and avatar items now. But the up side--and it's a significant up side--is that post-fitting extension, it's a lot easier for the end user to find mesh items that fit well and don't clip.

So...that's good, right?

Whatz has moved to a new mainstore, and in the process of hunting them down, I discovered they have a couple gifts under their holiday tree--or at least a random snow-covered pine, for all I know. (I haven't yet tracked them down, this is a SLUrl to a location near the tree, basically.)

(HAH! And I tracked the actual Whatz store down, for anyone who's curious. There you go.)

Now, a bit of RL intruding into our normal grid experience. I've been relatively absent for a while, but anyone who's still paying attention might have noticed I haven't thanked anyone who's sent holiday greetings my way, nor has anyone received any. I'm trying to make time to do at least a quick texture upload, and send it off to friends, but RL has me rather massively distracted at present. Namely: we have an ailing cat.

Our Siamese blend, normally a spitfire who can literally bounce up six feet from a standing stop, is now mostly huddled on a soft chair in the living room, wrapped in various towels. Up until very recently, she'd lost the ability to walk, we were feeding her syringes of turkey broth and dilute amounts of baby food (various pureed meats), and preparing ourselves for her passing.

My cousin's husband, a lovely man in general, but in specific a former vet tech, brought us two tubes of supplements. One's "yummy" (I highly doubt the "yummy", but it's what the tube says) chicken-flavored high-calorie gel, and the other one's a heavy multivitamin and mineral gel. We pry her jaws open about six times a day (she hates this) and pour a dollop of both onto her tongue, so she can lick it off and thus ingest some nutrients so she doesn't starve on us.

We've been doing this for three days. This morning, we woke up to a kitten we had to shower, because she had managed to walk to the litterbox on her unsteady pins, actually use the litterbox, and return (trailing, unfortunately, bits of litter stuck to her fur) to the chair, hopping back into it on her own.

To go from not able to walk under her own power, and suffering incontinence due to loss of muscle control and general weakness (to the point where we were pondering getting some preemie diapers and cutting holes in them for her tail), to walking--even if unsteadily--to the litterbox and back...well, frankly, this is something of a holiday miracle. And even if we still lose her, we're hoping to do so after we've helped her put on a little more weight, and regain some muscle stiffness.

But all of this has distracted our family from many things--sending out holiday cards (RL and SL), interacting with friends both local and long-distance...we barely managed a Yule celebration and most of it was frankly spent ensuring Storm-kitten was warm and clean.

So if you don't hear from me until after the holidays, thank you for the cards, thank you for the gifts, thank you for the art, and I'll ponder something to do in return. But my priority--our entire family's priority right now--is our cat, because she's bluntly the closest thing we're going to have to children, and we'd miss her deeply if she went.

I'll leave you with this instead, and update when I can, and Merry Everything to those of you who celebrate, and happy feasting and bright lights to those of you who don't!

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

There are a bunch of holiday-themed poses for free under the tree at Picture This! Some of the packages are left-click purchase, others are standard right-click to buy, but there's several of them. Who knows, you might find something for that last-minute photo urge!

In technology news, the first bioprosthetic heart has been implanted in a living patient. The patient is--at least as of that report--conscious and functional, but of course the medical team is watching closely to be sure. Still, it's one more step in the advance to ensure that everyone who is in need for heart replacement finds a way to keep functioning.

Genre, for December, is hosting a "Victorian Christmas" themed event. I don't know if it's lasting until the end of the month; what I do know is that there are several lovely L$10 items offered in the mix, and, for a wonder, most of the event's offerings actually are reasonably Victorian in nature. Woo!

There's a lady on Tumblr who's been, for the past year at least, compiling historical research on medieval instances of people of color being described. In fact, that's the name of her Tumblr: medievalpoc. She's been a fascinating source of historical documentation, and this week, she pulled together a post chronicling her most popular posts of 2013, featuring not just largely historical women of color, but nobility, warriors and ambassadors to other cultures.

Among the many links featured--many with historical images--there are several that were among my favorites, too, from the previous year.

Khutulun the Wrestler Princess

Khutulun, first introduced to me as Aiyurug, was born sometime around 1260, in a time when the Mongols ruled from relative positions of luxury and excess. In opposition to her more famous cousin, Aiyurug wished to return to the old ways of the Khans--feats of strength and war, nomadic travel, and physical prowess over sedentary indolence. To gain followers for her cause, she competed in all areas of Mongol sportsmanship: horse racing, archery, war games, and wrestling. She was a large woman, muscled, powerfully proportioned, and she was never beaten. In fact, a common wager was horse against horse, hers against her opponents. In time, she had a herd of trained warhorses ten thousand strong.

Etruscan Warrior "Prince" really a Princess, analysis finds

There's a certain amount of condescension in this article, but based on what little is known of this culture at the time, my theory is that the "Princess" named in the article lived life as a warrior and a man, or at least in a position of higher social status. I'm attributing this not only to the skeletal remains found with a warrior's lance, but the fact that the body next to the first is partially burned--a practice more common to Asian cultures, but also potentially possible for spouses in the Etruscan culture, as well. Add this to the fact that the spouse's body--identified as that of a male--was buried with traditional bridal jewelry, and I think it's fairly clear this is a case where the 'wife' had the privileges of the warrior, and the 'husband' lived a traditionally female existence.

Xiang Fei, the "Fragrant Concubine"

Xiang Fei's story is a fascinating one. Born into the Uighur Muslims, when Manchu general Zhahui returned from "gloriously" conquering the Uighurs in 1959, in addition to the treasures of the culture looted and removed, he brought with him Xiang Fei. Several reports make much of her natural scent, which is how she was named the Fragrant Concubine.

But she wasn't just chattel for the court--not only was Zhahui head over heels for her, but she resisted many of his advances, to the point of concealing small knives in her sleeves to protect herself when he neared. Though it's not clear what (if anything) eventually thawed her, two things are known: she apparently bore a daughter to Zhahui (willingly or not), and he built her a Muslim enclave with a tall tower that overlooked mosques built farther away from the palace. While he did not trust her beyond his walls to worship her faith, he did make it possible for her to worship in her own tower--a concession that many warlords of the time would not have undertaken.

She died in 1760.

Dido Elizabeth Belle, scholar and Scottish aristocrat

Dido Elizabeth Belle was the illegitimate daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay, and an enslaved African woman known only as Belle. How'ver, this is where the story becomes interesting. She was raised alongside Lindsay's own children, educated with them, and remained a favorite child of both the Earl of Mansfield (her half-uncle) and her father well into adulthood.

More surprising, part of her household duties included supervising Lindsay's personal correspondence, a position generally reserved for, and given to, educated men. She received an allowance until marriage of thirty pounds per year, equivalent to Lindsay's main heir, and more than any illegitimate daughter of the time received in comparable household situations.

Going one step further, upon Lord Mansfield's death in 1788, a lump sum of five hundred pounds was granted her, and her status as a free woman was carefully, legally documented, so that none could deprive her of her wealth or status.

In other news, the makers of Echo Bazaar now have a new game called the Sunless Sea. It appears to be similar in nature to Fallen London, but in reading through back entries in the blog, I am teased and enchanted by one facet in particular:

"Fallen London's drawn attention (mostly favourable) for the way it treats gender – we allow players to be a lady, a gentleman, or neither. We've been saying we'll take the same approach in Sunless Sea, but actually, we're going to go a little bit beyond that. We're not going to specify gender at all.

That doesn't mean you won’t be able to pick an avatar that looks like a lady or a gentleman or remains teasingly androgynous. Or shaded by a deep-brimmed hat. Certainly you can. But when you're looking through portraits, you won't be limited to the ones for 'male/female/other'. Perhaps you did run away to sea dressed as a boy. Perhaps you don't fit into the usual binary. Perhaps you just want to look through avatars and decide which one you like before you pick male or female."

Fascinating.

with thankful heart and joyful mind

There's a very random grouping of gifts at the Snowville Winter Fair in Boutou; all are free, but they're everything from really nice mesh minis to holiday trees to scarves to furry skating skirts. Still, check it out if you're interested, and follow the beacon if you're dropped off at the ballroom, not Santa's workshop.

There are also a few holiday gifts out at OhLaLa--some on the front desk, more under the tree. Again a mixed bag, but interestingly so, at least.

ModaMia also has some gifts out under their tree--they seem to be mostly womenswear separates, holiday corsets and tank tops, with some accessories and I think one stuffed animal? Not sure if it's a teddy bear with a hat, or just a teddy bear package, frankly.

And for the enhanced crowd, there's another grouping of holiday gifts under the S.L.A.D. tree (in Maple Valley, an Adult sim). They're all free, and barring the purely mesh items, they all have Phat Azz appliers, Lolas Tangos appliers, or both. (I noticed at least two skins and a henna tattoo in the mix, as well.)

But what I really want to talk about is fawns.


Specifically, this one. The Fawn of Shiallia.



The Fawn of Shiallia is a magical young creature who gleams with a radiant green glow, sprouts flowers anywhere it walks, adds a regeneration effect to those near it, and heals adventurers with which it travels. It's also the single most expensive pet to acquire during the Winter Festival on Neverwinter.


It's...not always graceful. But more to the point is how the community has taken to this fawn, in...well, very unusual ways. To wit:

[Zone] Delinquent@salvatus69: The Fawn Strikes Back
[Zone] MrGIANT@flashburn99: I-fawn
[Zone] emmy@shivakid: Califawnia girls
[Zone] Delirium Mortis@deliriummortis: The Good the Bad and the Fawnly
[Zone] MrGIANT@flashburn99: Cell-fawns
[Zone] Zanlamar Odea@theflingueur: Some people just wanna watch the world fawn

Getting the idea? It went on like this:

[Zone] Bilbo Baggins@qwikshot16nd: All Fawns Go To Heaven
[Zone] Aelar Darksbane@honyokill: for a few fawns more
[Zone] Korom@Noctar0: what the fawn
[Zone] Quimizael Halaudra@k3ll0: Call of Fawnez
[Zone] Dark Loki@killergilnyc1: fawntastic four
[Zone] SnEaKy-HoBBiT@jibby015: this is keeping things fawn while fishing lol
[Zone] Shae Ruzhan@rhonesardan: Fawndingo
[Zone] Loriel@xxultima: Fawnophobia..
[Zone] Zero Angelbane@rhtb4theeyeblnk: grumpy old fawn
[Zone] Jeronor@mjjolnor: Stop me before I fawn again!!!
[Zone] Bilbo Baggins@qwikshot16nd: Fawnablanca
[Zone] Beiro Silentread@vendicius: Austin Powers: The Fawn who Shagged Me
[Zone] MrGIANT@flashburn99: Fawnoccio
[Zone] Tricksterwind@tricksterwind: Fawntiful Creatures
[Zone] Erisell@JuliaShade: Fawn Sawyer and Buckleberry Fin
[Zone] Stasi Swiftarrow@skywoulf: Fawntasia
[Zone] Grimmace@exiledyoshi: Fawnty and the Beast
[Zone] Miri Woodsheart@oceanocean: Genghis Fawn
[Zone] Arayia Moonshadow@lali313: The Maltese Fawncon
[Zone] Canagan Brooke@igiveup2: The Legend of Boggy Fawn
[Zone] Delirium Mortis@deliriummortis: Sonic the Hedgefawn

Yeah, I don't think this particular fawn is that fast...

[Zone] Dark Loki@killergilnyc1: The Fawntom of the Opera
[Zone] Leinad@darthvala: The Arctic Fawns
[Zone] Bilbo Baggins@qwikshot16nd: Romeo and Fawniette
[Zone] Raul Blackband@floingis: FAWNNY AND CLYDE
[Zone] Delirium Mortis@deliriummortis: The Fawnth of July
[Zone] Arcane Vices@borghandler: Dr. Strangefawn
[Zone] Zenobia@scorpio666corpse: Live Fawn or die!
[Zone] Bear@dan67: May the Fawn be with you
[Zone] ThunderWolf@thunderwolf567: Fawnward Scissorhands
[Zone] Aelar Darksbane@honyokill: Fawning in the Rain
[Zone] Dark Loki@killergilnyc1: Mrs. Doubtfawn

Now I'm seeing a plumply padded fawn in a housedress with a mock English accent. Eep.

[Zone] Morthos Vicelord@aoblue32: the cold light of fawn
[Zone] Bilbo Baggins@qwikshot16nd: Fawn Wars
[Zone] Delirium Mortis@deliriummortis: Uncle Fawn needs YOU!
[Zone] hvy smoker@haladale: can i fawn you later
[Zone] Mary Jane Toker@imnotnothigh: Fawn of the Dead
[Zone] Adinimys@awittyhalfwit: Honey I Shrunk the Fawn
[Zone] SnEaKy-HoBBiT@jibby015: Clash of the Fawntans
[Zone] MamaJo@angelbear31: Don't make fawn of ME
[Zone] Elizia The Devoted@b100d31f: ALL YOUR FAWN ARE BELONG TO US
[Zone] Walker Bohl@romsebastian: Star Trek: Fawnesis
[Zone] Dark Loki@killergilnyc1: FAWNKENSTEIN
[Zone] Lucius Van Helsing@Lourdie: The Dark Fawn Rises

Dark faun? I can get behind that...

[Zone] Canagan Brooke@igiveup2: SOMEONE SET US UP THE FAWN
[Zone] Adinimys@awittyhalfwit: Monty Python and the Holy Fawn
[Zone] xSimox@truesevenfold: The Fawn Identity, Fawn Supremacy and The Fawn Ultimatium
[Zone] Delirium Mortis@deliriummortis: Shut the Fawn door
[Zone] MamaJo@angelbear31: Stop Or My Fawn Will Shoot
[Zone] Elanthis Silverkin@elanthis2: Fawns of the Carribean
[Zone] raven darkblade@restuss: and she had fawn, fawn, fawn 'til her daddy took her unicorn away...
[Zone] Bilbo Baggins@qwikshot16nd: The Hunchback of Notre Fawn
[Zone] Dronin@mixmasterflex: fawn'wwww [Zone] Arayia Moonshadow@lali313: Sherlock Holmes and Fawn Watson

Personally, I might have gone with "Forelock Holmes" for that one...

[Zone] Jeronor@mjjolnor: The Holy Hand-Grenade of Anti-Fawn
[Zone] V.V@Fasinfil: Fawnadu
[Zone] Garrick Swift@zannkind: Fawntastic Four
[Zone] Dark Loki@killergilnyc1: The Real Fawnwives of Atlanta
[Zone] emmy@shivakid: Fawnyuns
[Zone] Aelar Darksbane@honyokill: don't use the fawn's name in vain
[Zone] Elrilion@Elrilion: Anybody seen Pulp Fawntion?
[Zone] Hanalesia Bonaduce@matteo273: Enter the Fawn
[Zone] Quimizael Halaudra@k3ll0: Fawn's Labyrinth
[Zone] Stasi Swiftarrow@skywoulf: "To Fawn or Not To Fawn, that is the question....."
[Zone] SnEaKy-HoBBiT@jibby015: Fawn Almighty
[Zone] Eudaimon@Mereologist: That's all fawn with me.
[Zone] Quimizael Halaudra@k3ll0: A Fawn Too Far
[Zone] Paulzz@paullzz: One does not simply fawn into Mordor
[Zone] Hanalesia Bonaduce@matteo273: Im fawning asleep
[Zone] Canagan Brooke@igiveup2: Dances with Fawns
[Zone] ThunderWolf@thunderwolf567: Transformers: Revenge of the Fawn

That...doesn't sound like the best idea, actually...

[Zone] Garrick Swift@zannkind: It's a Fawnderful Life
[Zone] Elrilion@Elrilion: Silence of the Fawns?
[Zone] Dark Loki@killergilnyc1: How I Met Your Fawn
[Zone] Arya Ellenwell@ellellellelle: transfawners
[Zone] kingkush@masterdebater666: black fawn down
[Zone] Crim Legion@qryraen: Lord of the Fawns: The Fellowship of the Fawn
[Zone] Eudaimon@Mereologist: Breaking Fawn.
[Zone] Tricksterwind@tricksterwind: Ghostfawnsters
[Zone] Lytheh@nivacs31: Fawning Nemo
[Zone] Jeronor@mjjolnor: Jane Doe: The Fawn Society
[Zone] Majorana@TauLept0n: Quadrofawnia
[Zone] Quimizael Halaudra@k3ll0: Bohemian Fawnsody
[Zone] WTB PVP CONTENT@concubines: Neverwinter Fawnline

And three hours in, they were still going strong. And the next few hours. And later that night. And the next afternoon...And it's still occasionally popping up and taking over chat in the strangest ways.

[Zone] Xeen@mojoslackman: I wanted to type in bold but they don't support that fawnt
[Zone] Kayang@tofumengy: did you say hotel califawnia?

And yes, at this point, even the repeats are repeating. I'm thinking it's becoming pandemic.

Or at least fawndemic.

After all, the first rule of Fawn Club is...never mind.

symbols of the sun, symbols of the snow

For the holidays, the Zero store has the Makronome free on the Marketplace. What are this? I'm not entirely sure, but...it plays holiday music.

And possibly runs on blood.

Moving on, Meli Imako's December free gift is an absolutely amazing lace and fur trim winter coat, which I for one am nabbing with glee. Not sure what I'm going to do with it, because I still feel like I'm the Cro-Magnon in the corner putting ochre handprints on the cave walls when it comes to working with mesh. Still, it's very pretty, and very seasonal.

Old Time Prims is offering a simple black umbrella freebie; it states it comes with the hold pose, but does it fold and snap open? That, I do not know.

You want an antlered hoodie in a holiday print? Sure, why not?

By the way, a more efficient thermoelectric generator has been invented, that converts both solar energy and heat to electricity. They're running tests on the prototype now,

I can't believe I forgot to check Isis Boutique for Advent gifts! She does have one up this year. If you haven't been a participant in previous years, then everything's going to be new to you, but it seems to be a mix of the past couple years' Advents, to be honest. Still, there's a tasty holiday blend of warm socks, ballet shoes, and seasonal flats, so if you want that, hop on by. All previous gifts on the tree are also available.

And have a very twitchy kitten. Happy holidays.

oh, the weather outside is frightful

Hey, new Advent noted! It's over at the KittyCatS winter sim, and all previous gifts are still available!

Also, you should check out the FabFree list of holiday advents; and a tip o' the hat to Miss Deoridhe for letting me know. Thank you so much!

Meanwhile, over at haruxharu, there are three holiday boxes out for free--one containing a cute retro sweater dress, one containing the matching sweater boots in white with red covers, and one containing a headband in two options to go with everything. (The headband is a set of glowy, jeweled cat ears. It comes in two options, "White"--which is white with lots of glow--and "Grid"--which is, well, white with lots of glow, far as I can tell. They're both adorable, though.)

The Magic store has what they're calling an Advent Courtyard--basically, find the box for the day, click it, get the landmark, go to that store, and find the gift. Only question is, will the earlier boxes lead us to stores that still have gifts out? I don't know, I haven't checked (yet).

And if anyone out there has deep aspirations to be a...um...sardine-maid? I can help with that. And it's free on the Marketplace, so...yay?

as all my darkness gathers in

Have some haunted houses in real life, famous authors in costume, and, if you like suspense but not gore, twenty-five of the most suspenseful films ever made.

Because Halloween never lasts long enough, frankly.

Every now and again, I still hear words from on high...

turning radius: Hey, whats up?
turning radius: You on?
turning radius: Are you still sleeping never?

So, interesting story with that...kind of yes, kind of no? It's odd. But in the main, my apologies, Lord--I was on, but I was killing spiders, skeletons, and werewolves in Neverwinter. Sorry?

Words of wisdom from a mountain? I've got that.

In the meantime, if you'd seen or heard of the latest Miss Universe pageant's...unusual...take on national costumes, I've dug up part of the full country line-up. You can find a few more here, and here, if you're really interested. For me personally, I'm not sure I'd honestly be able to pick out more than five--maybe five--that are even tenuously related to the national costumes of their countries, and top of that limited list is Miss Japan (Yukimi Matsuo) and Miss Korea (Yumi Kim). And even those aren't exact.

The SLebrity Sim is currently hosting the SLebrity City Holiday Fair. What's so unique about this is that all the things you'll find there are transferable as gifts. Now, that's a neat holiday concept.

[18:46] Santi Knight (vxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx): booo
[18:46] Santi Knight (vxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx): i need your blood
[18:58] Emilly Orr wanders back to the keys and scoffs.
[18:58] Emilly Orr: You're kidding, right? No biting. Go 'way now.
[18:59] Santi Knight (vxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx): jajja ok

Some days people irritate me. Days like this, though, I just loathe them all in general.

while the merry bells keep ringing

The best prosthetics on the planet are made by Sophie de Oliveira Barata. If you want to know why, read the article. It has pretty, pretty pictures.

So why are the volunteer Reddit moderators banning actual news sources, but keeping blogs that quote their work? That seems...inconsistent, at best and disingenuous at worst.

[Zone] Evangalyne@kayteeann: where do you go for companions?
[Zone] Jermama Zafati@jasonf247: a nice bar, or perhaps a coffee shop
[Zone] Evangalyne@kayteeann: Thanks Jermama

Perhaps not the answer Evangalyne was seeking, but amusing nonetheless.

And there's a new "men only" game:



I'm fairly sure this is the same company behind the others, and to add insult to injury, they've appropriated Clyde Caldwell's art to do it. In specific, a very well-known piece called "The Sea Fox".

In researching more about the topic, too, I found this. It's a short enough article, and relevant, but what really interested me is in the comments. R2 Games is not only gleefully defying the ESRB (and really, who's surprised?), but is pulling from an insanely vast image pool of images for other games--including other Chinese MMORPGs, which has got to be a potential nightmare for them.

Or maybe Chinese gaming companies really don't care, figuring "if it's on the net, it's free"...like a lot of other netizens.

And, while I normally try to avoid politics on this blog, if you live in the US, this is a necessary article to read.

So I gave up on major aesthetic changes for the blog, and just went back to brown. But it's brown with a slight holiday theme! And it's more readable now! That counts, right? ...Right?

Bah. And likely humbug. In the meantime, more Advents!

FallnAngel Designs has their Advent Countdown Tree up! They also have a Lucky Advent board (click the board, it'll give you the day's letter; if it's not yours, check back the next day or find someone whose name starts with that letter and test your luck) and a Lucky Santa (it's like any lucky chair, only you sit on Santa's lap), as well as (and this is my personal favorite) a Lucky Holiday Gift Tree. Now, the only downside to standing next to a tree with six different presents to watch is that they're all set on sixty minutes per box. But with friends helping, or even asking (politely) in the Falln group, you might end up with all six quicker than you think!

The Cookie Jar store--or Aileen's Shabby Chic, I keep forgetting which it is, but it's the same place nonetheless--has an Advent out this year. No hunting or finding the right day--just touch the calendar, get that day's gift. Simple!

The "Artistry by 'E'" store also has an Advent tree; click the front present if you're not in the group, click the front present and the Advent calendar board if you are.

And more when I find them!

wind me up, turn the key

What is dark energy?

Also, it's picture-heavy, and doesn't include all of the ideas, but have a taste of a hundred ideas that changed architecture.

Also II, remember all those scenes in SF movies where physical objects rose up out of virtual tables, and could be touched and interacted with? Meet the beginnings of that technology in real life.

Also III, Bride of Also, ribbon particles in SL? Yes, ribbon particles in SL.

And it's that time of the year again, where Em decides to muck about with changing her blog template. Yes, she understands it's kind of unreadable now. Bear with her, it (hopefully) will improve.

and the circuitry between you and me, it starts with the Mecto Amore

More Advents found!

LK & Beach Street have put together a selection of stuffies, household decor, and accessories, free to all. Also free: all the previous gifts.

One returning from last year is VampRealm, which is a little tricky to click, but all the previous gifts are also still available. Yay.


There's also the Weinachtsmarkt, or the "Mrs. Santa Christmas Market"--this is an odd one, but kind of fun. Basically, it's a cart market, full of vendors with holiday items on special, and most of the stalls also have an Advent gift. Find the gift for that day, click, and it's yours. (No previous gifts available, but if you're lucky, you might run into Santa on the sim!)

Mieville also has a holiday market going, and at the end of it they have an Advent calendar, but the hazard is not the calendar itself, it's the scarily repetitive loops of holiday songs. Flee the holiday songs! Or at least turn your volume down before going in.

Needful Pixels has an Advent calendar that needs a lot of time to rez in. It's also set to GMT, so if you're in the US, both this one and Mieville's (also set to change on GM time, not SL time) will hit you as being on one day ahead of what they're "supposed" to be.

Beyond the Mists in Artanis is having an "Advent hunt"; basically, wander the snowy area until you find the present with the date. WARNING: Artanis is an ADULT SIM. So if you're not age-verified, you won't make it in for this one.

By Jove may be the rara avis on the list; won't know 'til I unpack, but as they seem to specialize in menswear, they might be offering menswear under the tree! Check them out if you're interested.

Timeless Textures has an Advent this year; if you like their textures (and I do), go check it out.

And Fairy Unique Designs has opened up their former group-only Advent to be a come-one-come all affair, which personally, I think is a grand thing. So go click them, too!

More when I track them down.

(Oh, and the title of this post comes from Steam Powered Giraffe's latest single from their new album, MK III: "Mecto Amore":



(So...yeah. Enjoy that. Tasty stuph.)

gonna find out who's naughty and nice

Do you like holiday cookie noms? Do you have a muzzle most of the time in SL? This could be right up your alley, then. Comes in iced tree, iced bell, and iced stocking variants. At a stab, I'd say they're either gingerbread or molasses-cookie based, considering the color of the dough. And they're utterly free, so go nab 'em!

Yesssss, I haven't updated for a while. I also haven't been in SL for a while! Life and been utterly hectic in so very many ways of late. In the meantime, this means...a clip entry!

Because seriously, I don't have energy for anything else.

No one has yet given me a full link list to the Advent calendars going on, plus I started three days late, so bother. I checked my landmarks, but Kouse's Sanctum is now gone, and all the FallnAngel links go to sims that aren't attached to the store anymore, as Azriel's downsized (along with oh, so many other merchants on the grid). This is all I could find on a quick earlier run before daily life tackled me and threw me to the floor again:

Alice Project: hair advent at their main store, though apparently the boxes (one for VIP clients, one for everyone) will show up at the Mint Tulip branch a few days after to help out with sim traffic.
Kinzart Kreetures also has an Advent going. I don't know whether it will just be plushies, or will include skins/ears/tails or full avatars; we'll have to wait and see as it unfolds.
And Abranimations has their usual animated-pose things on Advent offer this year.

I'll post more as I discover them.

Apparently--scientifically, even--the best time to drink coffee has been determined, and it's not a time when I'm ever awake--unless I have to be. Guess I'll have to finally invent that espresso IV drip, after all.

[02:54] kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: friend give me home but when i walk it be liek invisibel

I'm actually terrified of what they're trying to say. When they walk inside the home, it becomes invisible, or when they walk when they're attached to the home? Because I've seen that happen.

More to come.