It's that time again! The event day for Relay for Life of Second Life is this weekend!

Starting Saturday, July 18th at noon SLT, and running for a full 24 hours, Relay for Life is a symbolic walk around a track all night to honor a cancer survivors diagnosis, treatment, and eventually, the dawning of a new day.

This year we are using 37 sims with gorgeous designs, live music throughout, amazing ceremonies, and wayyy too many events and things-to-do to mention here.

Come check us out. Sims open Saturday at (around) 5 AM SLT, but the real event starts at noon...

See you there!!

(sim RFL Start Here might be a good place to.. well, you know).

Again, when xkcd is right, it's oh, so right.

Here, have a divine example of comic timing in a comic. 

Aren't I nice to you?

"GDP is not a measure of economic health, it is a measure of transactional heat." -- Mark Kingwell, The Idler's Glossary, introduction

Okay, I've heard of chickenhawk conservatives, but this is ridiculous. I mean, you'd think anybody who believed this radical-fringe fairy tale about Obama would've had to swallow a lot of talk radio fantasies about Iraq and Afghanistan in the process, so I doubt this is any conscientious objection to the wars themselves. I'd entertain the possibility that he's some kind of Buchananoid isolationist, but what the hell would a guy like that be doing in the military in the first place?! So apparently, he's just not willing to do his damn job because he doesn't like his boss. Isn't it neat that the military works that way now?

Oh, well. The best I can hope for is the persistence of Google. So here you go, future contacts. Major Stefan Frederick Cook: coward, lunatic, hypocrite, frivolous litigant. Do not hire, do not date, do not make eye contact. (Around here, we call this Code Banner.)

In related news, note that in order to be a real somebody in Ben Stein's world, you still have to be carrying out the will of American foreign policy, preferably amid violence. Not that soldiers aren't generally quite brave and effectual people -- but are teachers, scientists, and god help us, journalists still basically shit, then? It's ALWAYS the soldiers with these people. Believe it or not, there are actually worthwhile forms of civic service that don't involve any firearms at all!

(And if you try to tell me those other groups don't risk themselves on a regular basis, I'll laugh in your face. I know some riveting stories about foreign correspondents, just for starters. Conservative whipping boy Robert Fisk does more brave things before breakfast than your average grunt does in a whole tour.)

Happy birthday to all Tugriks in your area. We now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

"If there is a God, his plan is very similar to someone not having a plan." -- Eddie Izzard

The new version of Emerald is out. I've had a couple of friends tell me they love it, for various reasons. Me? I can't get it to work. It'll load up but the browser window doesn't open while the task continues to run in the background. By the forum, it looks like there are various problems and bugs being worked out so I've got my fingers crossed that it's only a matter of time before I can enjoy it as well. And to top it all off, the old version is no longer available for download. D:

Any other Emerald users having problems with the new version?

So, sort of following estaluna_benoir's example, I've up-stakes and moved. This is my new place. It's smaller - only 1024 sq m and 234 prims, but that's all I need. It's a lot more affordable, and as you can see, I still fit the bonfire, cabin & palm trees in. Have a look - that's me dozing in the surf...



And the same shot, only at night...



Of course, being me, I've since acquired a hammock to go between the palms by the fire. Other than that, though, I think it's pretty much finished. Very relaxed and comfy...

Pretty depressed yesterday. Much much better today. Not only am I thriving on good Absinthe feedback and progress on a writing project...

STRONG BAD HAS OFFICIALLY COME OUT OF RETIREMENT.

On this day in 1985, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure got a bunch of their friends and peers together for a concert that would change the world. They had one vision in mind: bring people together to help raise money for the relief of Famine in Africa. On one beautiful sunny day, music changed the world.

Join DJ Johnny for a tribute to LiveAid as he plays the artists who gave their time and music for this monumental effort to save African people from starvation.

Event begins at 7pm and runs till 9pm slt.

Teleport to Dark Bliss
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Some of the artists who were involved:
David Bowie, Boomtown Rats, Ultravox, Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Cars, Status Quo, Howard Jones, The Hooters, Bryan Adams, Bryan Ferry, Dire Straits, Judas Priest, and more!

Last night we had a bottle of Pancake Cellars Big Day White.  Pancake is a winery in the Paso Robles area, about 3 hours north of yours truly here in the Los Angeles area.  This wine is 60% Sauv Blanc, 27% Chardonnay, 12% Gewurtztraminer, and a whopping 1% Pinot Blanc.  It has several notes of citrus (mostly lemon), and the chard comes in on the back of the pallate with a buttery kind of feel.  The Gewurztraminer lends a sweetness to the wine, and all in all is not bad for the $5 we spent on it.

If you have a Trader Joe's around you, this is not a bad at all for the price!

-V