Update August 2012

Yeah, I know the title isn't all that innovative, and might not 'sizzle' or attract an audience.  That's never been the purpose for this blog anyways.  If it started out as anything, it first was to express opinions that I couldn't at the time on Flickr without the Midian thought police at the time looking for a way to shut me down.  The ban at the time, around early 2010 RLAD, had effectively shut me out of the city's streets, but it didn't shut me up about the inequities and problems of the day.  They tried to on Flickr, but they couldn't when I moved here.  And effectively, that shut them up.

And then Auntie lifts the ban off of both Ioh and Luke. So now what?

Two years has changed Midian quite a bit.  Jade is no longer the owner, or at least not the main owner, if at all.  Apocalypse, Leviathan, and that hard to pronounce 'Q' - those three regions are all gone. Hybrid factions, including the Catwalkers all seem to be gone.  A good portion of the people that caused drama at the time of my ban are gone.  Some who were perceived drama people at the time have, or so I've been told, either taken up leadership roles or are friends of the new owners of Midian.

What does this all mean?

Good question.

Those that have moved on from Midian, this doesn't mean a whole lot.  The predictions seem to be running their course that indeed Midian has fallen, and may indeed finally go out in a slow and painful death.  So why should anyone that's left or been banned decide to return?  What would be the point, especially if your mind and heart are no longer in it - and especially if you feel better for it?

Truth is, there is no real or good reason to return to Midian, especially if you are tired of or no longer are interested in RP, or at least not the style of RP that has gone on in Midian.  There's plenty of 'dark' urban and post apocalyptic types of RPs out there.  They all generally do the same thing and appeal to the same sort of people that run around in those types of circles.  Once they've drained up the patience of RPers in one region or estate with their constant need for and craving of that addictive side of drama, these people just go on to pillage and plunder elsewhere.  It's funny how they often tend to be the loudest voices and claim to be the ultimate RPer and supporter of a specific region - that is, until the well has dried up and they no longer can get the high they crave from the place they had been oh so loyal to.

And I'll admit, I fell into that trap.  For nearly three years, I was loyal to Midian, for a couple years to NoR, CoLA, and DCS, for a year to Everwind, and a several months to Perdition, Cranberry Cove, and Covenant.  In the beginning, it was performance and enjoying a sense of creative productivity akin to ad lib, or free form/improvisational acting.  At least, those were the more high-minded reasons for getting into RP. That and a belief that such RP would lead to better writing, even creating a collaborative community to experiment on character and story development, having a real time experience of the story arc, and creating the future of fiction though 'living' through it in a more 'realistic' sense.

Sure, some of that was there.  There were people that were creative and claimed, if not actually were involved, in making their own stories.  Who knows?  Maybe there was someone who was a published author, or seeking publication within the mix of the RP population.  But, the words (paraphrased) of Stephen King about what makes a writer of fiction, in that those who want to write, ought write, always stood out.  In that sense, if you want to write to get published, you actually write with the intent to get published.  Still should work in the real world and try to find a day (or night) job to sustain yourself until you become published and can manage to gain enough of an audience or prominence in author circles that your writing becomes self-sustainable.  And let's face it, nothing in our wildest dreams or insane 'creativity' in a virtual world can compare to the real time activity in the real world around us.  Certainly, the risk is greater - particularly if your insane enough to get married in this day and age of no fault divorce and a marriage license being as easily made revocable as a driver's license, and then expect for someone to actually stay with you until death do us part.  As crazy as SL prices are for virtual goods (I'm sorry, US$40 for 52 animations to make your avatar twirl around, dance, and act drunk is insane), real goods in real life are just as insane, and have a greater impact on society as a whole than your whining over not looking like the hottest tart and/or trashiest bitch in the metaverse.  Cry me a river, and, if you could, let that and your bloated ego go to Eggo Waffles and helping out those starving and dying of thirst in the real world because of our excessive culture's political problems and planetary policing with population control for their ultimate end game scenario.

If I learned anything from Second Life and RP, it would be that what goes on in the virtual world mimics the real world.  And I don't want this to mean a negative either.  It's just what is.  And it should not be reduced to wicked and evil things, but considered in good and noble things as well.  If the real world has the good, the bad, and the ugly, so too does the virtual world have the good the bad and the ugly.  There are people out there that want to create a wonderful, honorable, and virtuous real and virtual world that can be shared by all who inhabit it. But there are also people out there that just want to stick with the status quo of vices, prejudices, hatred, fear mongering, and all that is wrong with the world. But this tale of two cities has gone on before Charles Dickens, before Dante's Divine Comedy (which actually split it between Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven), and even before St. Augustine's City of God, which was also sometimes referred to as a tale of two cities. For the Egyptians had the underworld of Duat and heavenly fields of Aaru. The Hebrews that the Jews came from had Sheol and Pardes (the divine orchard/garden, or 'Paradise'/Heaven, as translated and understood in English). Even the Greeks had Hades and Makarion Nesos, which is much like the Irish/Gaelic ifreann and Innisfail- or the Isle of Destiny to which Ireland to this day continues to claim as its true destiny as a great and noble land.  One could say that all this entails everything from human hubris to Manifest Destiny, and that ever looming Emperialism to which Corporatism and Statism have become the heirs of, for better or (more likely) for worse.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against destiny. I do distrust corporate and state destinies in as much as both are devastating to both our independent and collective destinies as individual humans and the whole of humanity.  They can be good, when they are set to work for the people, and not against them - when they serve man, rather than enslave us.  And this too is true about our virtual world. For indeed there are both the cultures cultivated there for both the ends and purposes of serving and enslaving those who participate in them.  The same goods and the same evils grow together, and do what they do under the same real and virtual suns.  And they both work to prove they are right, or hold the greatest might, in similar manners under both lights.

So what does this all mean?

I suppose it's meaningless to some, and meaningful to others. Still others might be on the fence, just trying to figure out where they fit in, if anywhere at all.  For me, the meaning matters when you're willing to make it so.  When you're willing to reach for your destiny, you find meaning, and necessity to prevent others from denying it from you.  Otherwise, if you don't give a damn, you don't care whether you are damned or not, and certainly care not if you, or anyone else goes to Hell.  Further, if you know not either way, it all seems a damned shame to be so troubled and Hell-bent either way.  So why be pulled, or let either take sway?

Maybe some day.

Somewhere, between Heaven and Hell, there is a middle ground.  But this lukewarm lake is neither safe or sound.  It might as well just be a slow boil or swell.  All paths may lead to Rome, but the many wide and winding paths, even those of good intentions can also lead to Hell.  No one ever said that the way to Paradise would be easy.  And keeping that garden and cultivating it is certainly a chore as well.  Living a good and fruitful life (not the good and glamorous 'rock star' life) is difficult, but comes with greater rewards than material riches and wealth can ever provide. To find and prosper in it, whether in the real or virtual life, takes a lot of work and patience.  It also takes discerning what is worthwhile to do and coming to terms as to why.

For these reasons, I find it hard to RP.  It never settled right with me the Midian motto of 'no heroes'. It never made sense to completely focus on the 'dark' and mockingly mimic the light.  It is also reprehensible to me to claim that the night must always be something frightening and bleak, and the day merely just a matter of the court of shades of gray.  There had been rays of hope, here and there, for a fuller story with a truer realism that has nothing to do with banishing ears and tails, but rather coming to a much better understanding of fantasy and fairy tales and their purpose, rather than making them a narrow and bigoted blueprint.

If someone could reason to me why I should honestly and earnestly have hope for Midian, I may take another look at it some day.  But for now, I would rather work on taking charge of my own destiny, and worry about my own lot in life.  I just can't reason putting myself back into that virtual city and its real strife.

As for other places, if you don't believe that any RP can devolve into these things, it may be time for you to get real and get a life.

Cat Napping And OpenSim Chatting

Already said it all here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iohannesii/7723230126/in/photostream/

Might as well shot the pic here as well, in case you don't want to hear my babblings about SL, OpenSim, and whatnot.

Mind Capital

Today, I went to a lunch meeting of a local group that has caught my interest. It offers a place to think, and area to come in to work, for a certain amount of days, depending on membership tier. In a way, it reminds me of Second Life on a few levels. By this, I mean back to the earlier days before it was about making money, but providing a space for creative minds to come together and mesh their ideas together to create brand new worlds on a virtual grid. The biggest contrast I see, thus far, is that this real life is a not for profit chartered group, whereas Second Life is a for profit corporation. Both are incorporated, mind you, but they serve quite different purposes.

I'm more comfortable in a not for profit setting. The difficulty of such is that often such incorporated groups are more of a fee for use, and more about seeking larger membership. In contrast, a corporation is more interested in the profit per capita (the profit per head), which is what capitalism runs upon. This is a very important distinction and contrast to consider, and we'll get back to that later.

This is not meant to be a 'capitalism is evil' rant. I happen to believe that capital is important, particularly in a materialistic world where matter, well, matters. But capital is not the end all, be all of who we are, and what we ought to be as a society. I absolutely refuse to believe that counting heads of people and calculating how the lot of them can make a profit for a company, and how much penny pinching and price gouging has to be done to create wealth for a small few masterminds is the end all, be all of being a human being. No, I believe that there is more to life than that – than to be either the cattle or the handlers that cow people into believing we must militantly follow them, be led by them throughout life, and into the final slaughterhouse that they may or may not have in store for the rest of the world. That sort of mindless control of the masses type capital of current capitalist mentality is not what I find important, but a detriment to society. A detriment no less a danger to society than the socialism they scare the world with. A socialism that they helped build, particularly in the industrial age that it comes out of.

The sort of capital that I do find important is that which we all have. In one sense, yes, it is our heads that stand on our shoulders. In another, it's the very essence and mind that our heads hold in our physical bodies, but we've held for a long time is a thing that our very bodies can't contain, and of that which is beyond the material matter that keeps us grounded. It is a certain essence that guides us, or can, if we so choose to use it and are apt to push beyond the boundaries set before us in the material world.

That is the type of capital that no copyright or corporate terms policy has any license or right to even try to contain. The very uniqueness within us, which also flows without, has no limitations, other than our own doubt. And that is what most corporations try to buy and sell us on, whether they choose to advertize it through creature comforts, or warn us with scares on security – and all the while, little by little, chipping away at our freedom and taking away true peace of mind.

But this isn't what I really want to talk about. I would rather talk about opening the mind, and opening worlds. For when we do open our minds, we open them to these new ways of perceiving, unlocking the path to something so vast that we can't fully comprehend it. Of course, when we do, there is also operating for many of us a fear. Most pivotal of fears for me is going through that portal and the potential that, in coming back, people may exploit it – or even I may exploit it. How does one tap into this vastness and find a way to use it for the better of the society they are a part of, to the benefit of the people and the planet that you call home?

When one asks this question, it is where ideas get grounded. It is here that the policies and systems we work in are founded. For while we can have limitless information, we are also at limited capacity to be able to have all this internalized wealth that comes to our heads from the vast externalities of 'mind capital', if you will, be processed by one single person. It's why we all can use a room to think, and room mates to bounce ideas off of. We are social creatures for a reason, and reason dictates that we must socialize to be at our optimal, if not highest levels of performance and personal being.

I'm not saying that we all must create our own Facebook or Twitter accounts and constantly blog. That is something that a good many of us have done as a matter of attempting to fulfill our social needs, with varying results – both good and bad. The quantitative product of these social media companies is not what fulfills us. It's the qualitative productivity that we put into them that matters. And I think that the companies know that to some extent, at least the smart ones that want to continue to stay in business as leaders and innovators, rather than leaches that latch on for the ride until the scheme is no longer profitable for them. And that is where, at least at the core of concept, for profit and not for profit vary the most. That is to say, while both are focused on heads, one looks to the individual and wonders how they could put that head to use in order to produce and serve both the organization and the community. The other just looks at the head and wonders how to manipulate it in order to take as much as is possible or acceptable without too much cause for protest.

This comes back to the difference between not for profit organizations and for profit corporations. Again, they are both incorporated, and run under charters, bylaws, and all that lovely legalese stuff that keeps lawyers in business. However the difference of focus between profit, and something other than profit does matter. I won't argue that for profit businesses can be charitable, and corporations can have a positive impact, when operating under particular guidelines that regulate in a manner to minimize exploitation and greed. But I think not for profits can come into the public with greater advantage when they have a focus less on the bottom line of profit and seek to focus on how best to serve and provide, both for their internal purposes, as well as the externalities that many for profit corporations refuse to consider and brush off as a problem for someone else. Or, worse, these particular corporations that are run by those few power mongers that want to see the demise of 90% of the human population don't give a damn because the intended results serve the purpose of destroying the people they want to be destroyed in the long run.

This is not to say that not for profits are without their own problems. However, as long as they have people at the core of their interest, and this interest is in empowering the people to grow and develop – to tap into that vast mind capital that no one has, nor should even think they have a monopoly on, then at least they are leaning in the right direction.   

The Cat Man Rising

The Cat's Shadow. A pic of a land sculpt I'd been working on in my OpenSim Standalone.

This past Friday night, I went to see Batman Rising. It was ok. I would recommend it to go see, but I wouldn't say it's the greatest Batman movie ever. But it did what it was supposed to for the final in the Christopher Nolan trilogy of the movie franchise. And he, along with the rest of the cast and crew from these past three movies, do leave with a bang, not to mention a movie legacy standard that will be hard for whoever may take up the Dark Knight's cape in the future to surpass.

I wouldn't be surprised if there is some political relevance to the movie. However, I think Rush's comments are that of a complete moron. Seriously, Bane and Bain Capitol? If anything, Bane as the villain could be as much a jab toward the Occupy Movement or Anonymous than Bain Capital and Romney. However, I'd hardly call Romney a Batman figure, he's much more like the politicians and businessmen in the movie – shifty in their loyalty and truth, and mostly driven by greed. I think it would really be hard to picture most of the wealthy in the world as Batman. It would be easier to see much of the top 10% as a James Bond villain that seeks out global domination, even destruction of the world and 90% of its population in attempts to make their delusional utopia a reality.

As it is, I can relate to Batman. Not that I'm rich, but in that being more in the background type. Sure, I can put on a good front – a 'mask' if you will. But, more often than not, I tend to try to take action, but do the best I can to not be seen. And sometimes people don't understand my motives, or get a wrong idea about me. Yet, I'll even use that to my advantage, even to drive me to do better, while still trying to keep out of the lime light.

It's not easy doing this. Sometimes I find myself reclusive, or at least putting myself in a place where I can be reflective and try to recollect and see where I went wrong, or how to improve things. Can't say that I've been successful with this. Not being a multi-billionaire kind of makes it hard to be reclusive, especially when it comes to finding a job in this economy. But I suppose that's the other thing about Batman, is refusing to be shackled to society and seeking a way to counter those that would have it, and your own life's demise – to find a way to be free, and help others find freedom who want it. That, and to strive to prevent freedom from falling into anarchy.

My characters in SL grew to have these same traits. In RP, Midian was Gotham to me. Ioh developed from a samurai cat to an alley cat thug after joining the Catwalkers gang. That eventually developed into Ioh as a 'prince' from a noble line of werecats that may or may not have been themselves a race of ancient genetic experimentation in the Golden Age of the world. The Catwalkers themselves became more of a mob type family, which itself eventually evolved (or devolved?) into somewhat a Jersey Shore meets Melrose Place type drama fest where it was all about personalities and fashion. Lost was what it meant to be an actual Catwalker, living on the rooftops, trying to keep the humans and others not in the group off said rooftops, and somehow manage to keep balance among the Catwalkers, as well as with the city as a whole.

I suppose being a cat almost automatically assumes the trait of being on the darker side of gray in the post apocalyptic world – especially one where cats, and other hybrids are a second class citizen at best. Yet, even with a parallel to Catwoman in that sense, Batman was a greater leaning for Ioh. Maybe it was the oriental background with the samurai trait he came in with. Could be the developing background story that he became orphaned because his parents were killed before his very own eyes in a gruesome pillaging of his first home village. Maybe even the shadowy figure of a dark knight ninja added to the common mix. Or maybe just because they both wore black, armored gear, and had a relatively practical utility belt of features. Who knows?

What I do know is that I related to Christian Bale's portrayal of Batman/Bruce Wayne, and especially in Dark Knight Rising. Or maybe it's just a matter that the movies reflect transitions for me. Batman Begins came out before I had even heard of SL, but it was no less pivotal in the development of Ioh. The first Matron he knew, Rith, even summarized the dilemma for Ioh when she brought him into the Catwalkers. She noted how that, then, Midian was overrun by all sorts of baddies that had all sorts of weaponry, armor, genetic and biomech enhancements to make it hard to just simply go around hacking and slashing. Enemies could just as easily be within the Catwalkers as they were on the outside. And, just like with Batman, betrayal can be very close, and very good at pretending to be someone who wants to help, even while draining you from the inside out, even trying to rip out your very heart and soul.

All these things did happen until Ioh, and a few other characters I had then were put into exile. They still are to this day. And this is where the comparison contrasts. For unlike the Dark Knight, Ioh doesn't get a chance to rise. He doesn't get to tie up loose ends and move on. At least not in such a fashion as Bruce Wayne is allowed to in the movie. Now, I'm pretty sure I don't want to go back. The Midian that was, is no more. It's essentially a shell of itself. But then, it was never a city to ever be meant to have hope, and was even given the Dante theme for The Inferno of 'abandon all hope.' For many past RPers, that has registered as abandon the RP and forget about hoping to return.

However it be for Ioh, the character, for me and my avatar(s) it's necessary to move on. The Dark Knight Rises at least gives me some closure. And like Bruce Wayne, I hope to step out of the shadows and find something better in life.

And so, here is Ioh, sitting on the highest peak of his homestead on the Open Sim standalone estate. He contemplates what will be of his new life and what he'll do in a new world and how to come to in under a new perspective. His author considers it a new way to create, and further his goal in developing a new world in a new story. This story will be less based on RP, and much more focused on things he could never have in mind within Midian. For that reason alone is it worthwhile to move on from Midian, and out into a brave new world.

Sitting on the highest peak, between the ears of the cat statue.

Making Hair and Using OpenSim Standalone

I sometimes forget I have blog and write about Blogger type things on my Flickr.  This is one of those occasions.  So, if interested in reading more about this, I would suggest to go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/iohannesii/7530403444/sizes/c/in/photostream/

Back on Track - The New Purpose of this Blog

Yes, I deleted the last post.  It no longer serves a purpose, and certainly not the purpose I want for this blog.  "What is the purpose for this blog?" You may ask.  Well, it's always been about updating the activities of my Second Life avatar, Iohannes Crispien, and, even at times, about my alts there.  But now as I move more away from having much of a presence in SL, it shall have to take on a new purpose. It shall always be a blog for my avatars, particularly Iohannes Crispien, but also Jack Corn, my avatar who is my main and only presence on 3rd Rock Grid, which is currently my main grid.  Within 3RG, I have a few projects under way, which I will update as they progress.  I thought of retro-updating on previous progress on these projects, and I may do so to bring people up to speed on what I am doing in 3RG and other grids in the metaverse.  For now, though, all I will say is that I will keep you all posted, and soon.  For now, take care all my friends!

... and even those few enemies that still hang around for some reason. <.<

Redirection Of Focus On Blogger

It's about time to do something else and make this blog more practical to my current interests.  I don't RP any more, don't hop on SL as much as I used to.  Instead, when I do hop onto a grid, it's usually one of the OS grids.  The top five that I go to are:

1. 3rd Rock Grid - Current home grid.  I have 1/4 land there with 3750 prim allotment for US$20 a month.  Good community, especially for content creators and music/DJ performers.

2. Craft A fairly new grid.  The community is great, and developer friendly.  It is at this point a freebie grid, and the community is not based on commerce, but being open in creation. The only thing that costs money are grids, which are roughly US$25/mo for a public sim and US$35/mo for a private.  However, there are parcels you can rent for 6 months free, sort of like a demo or trial run. The benefits are, though, that you can find a lot of tools and resources to get you started in developing your persona and your world.

3. InWorldz A lot of diverse aspects to this grid.  Mostly a 'tour grid' for me.  Fun events and a lot to explore.

4. Avination Another diverse grid.

5. OS Grid The Open Sim project that started it all.