Oh Dear, Oh My

Upon looking at this aethernet journal, I realize that I have been rather remiss in my postings.

There have been many things going on and thus I have been distracted. I do promise that I shall begin posting again soon once things have settled a bit.

Victoriana to Close

It is always sad to hear of a major Steamlands region closing and the community of Victoriana will be doing so at the end of the month. Mayor LittleBlackDuck Lindsay cited many reasons, first and foremost being his frustration with Linden Labs and many of their recent policies, oversights and inaction. I do feel for Victoriana's residents, as one does become vested in their community and I am sorry to hear of this happening.

For more information, you may peruse the following aethernet journals:
The Heliograph
Hibernia on the Skids
Through the Filter of a Victorian Aesthetic

New Steelhead Embassy in Winterfell Absinthe

Lunar asked me about using my museum building for the new embassy in Winterfell Absinthe. With a few tweaks involving some wall removals, a new back doorway and a retexture, I placed it in a nice little spot next to the Hut des Jagers...I created a wallpaper texture based upon a William Morris design...And in the back, Lunar created a bit of Pacific Northwest woodlands for folks to enjoy. He is still in the process of moving welcome items and finishing its details, but do feel free to stop by and enjoy this piece of Steelhead!Being a bunny builder is hard work...

Town Meetings Like No Other...

As I have been away for reasons explained in this post, I thought the easiest way to catch up on the unusual things that happen at Steelhead town meetings was to show you the photos themselves. It seems the town hall chandeliers are infested with crows and chickens...Was it something Fuzz said? Pies were being thrown left and right by attendees...Beware of tiny kitties in fancy dresses...After one meeting there was a hair-raising airship ride through all of Steelhead's sims with Emperor SteelCobra that involved being underwater and landing on pagodas...And speaking of the blue gent himself, he seemed rather ready for St. Patrick's Day...

Latest Issue of The Primgraph is Available

Dame Ordinal Leaves

I have been reading about the situation regarding Ordinal Malaprop's departure from the Grid with both sadness and interest. Mainly because as of late, I have often felt the same way.

Her concerns about the recent LiLa acquisition of Avatars United aside, I can understand the sense of logging in and feeling as if you are unproductive as a creator. Or unwilling to deal with whatever the latest drama the Grid or its citizens throw your way. I know that for me, logging into SL lately has been bringing more apprehension than enjoyment and I have always said that when it gets that way, why bother?

I used to love being inworld and creating and blogging. I used to love attending social events and exploring the Grid. I've gotten so tired of hearing about other people's dramas as they rant/complain/gripe their way through their time inworld. Why are you even in SL if it all sucks that much for you? That, combined with my own lack of motivation to create, has been a great source of inworld stress for me and you know what? I've been doing other things instead. I'm sure that it'll kick in and I'll be creative again. At least I hope so. Dia and I have talked a lot about "reclaiming one's SL", whether through downsizing, reinvention or taking a break from it (as I have been lately) to make it fun again. We can't be the only ones that have felt this sense of ennui.

As for Dame Ordinal, she's quite the inventor, scripter and personality. I took the pic above when we both got stuck at her shop in Caledon about 2 years ago. I was so excited to meet her for the first time. We had a great conversation and she demonstrated her latest product for me. Her presence--especially in the Steamlands of SL--will be missed.

Steelhead Town Mtg: 1st Chickening

The citizens of Steelhead gathered for their weekly town meeting. We are having a lantern festival on the 15th, and there is a call for folks to create their own. You can find out more about it here. And poor Mrs. P was Steelhead's first afk chickening of the year...For more Steelhead events and goings-on, please peruse the Sentinel.

Happy Holidays to You All!

I would like to wish everyone in the Steamlands and beyond a wonderful holiday season!

O Steelhead Tartan Bustle Dress

I have released the "O Steelhead" version of my tartan bustle dress, done in Steelhead's official tartan!

You may find it in my shop at Steelhead City.

I will be releasing the lumberjack shirt, waistcoat and full tartan dress with jacket soon, so be on the look out for them.

Riding Through Steelhead St Helens

I thought I'd saddle up Flashy and go for a ride through Steelhead St Helen's...
First killer deer and now bears?I love all of the flags from those who have climbed to the top of the mountain...
St Helen's is a beautiful, rustic sim with forests, streams, hot springs, and even a geyser! Every time I go back it is different. You'll have to see it for yourself...

Aether Salon: Shanghai'ed

There was a great turn out for the Aether Salon. The theme was "Shanghai'ed" and focused on Steelhead's Shanghai sim. Lunar discussed his influences for the Asian Steampunk look and feel of the sim, while Miss Riven Homewood discussed the RL influence of the Asian community on the Pacific Northwest. Miss Elegia Underwood spoke about roleplaying and RP'ing in Shanghai. I think everyone enjoyed it very much and it was nice to see so many visiting this wonderful sim.

Caledon Colony in Blue Mars

Well, it's official...

The Guvnah has announced that there will be a Caledon colony in the virtual world of Blue Mars.

It will be available for preview there in a few days. For more information, please read more HERE.

Steelhead on Ice

Just gliding around during our Friday night dance!

Skating in the Kokopelli

I genuinely enjoy ice skating. I find it calming as I glide around on the ice and sometimes do tricks and jumps. This year, the Steelhead ice rink is located at the Kokopelli Stage in Steelhead Capital City instead of in the Gardens as in years past. There is a free skate box and skate vendor there if you'd like to as well.

Steelhead Sim Opening Dance and Killer Deer

There was a nice turnout at tonight's dance celebrating the arrival of St Helen's...However, its resident deer ran amok, causing quite a bit of panic. It seems it did not forget my chasing after it in ferret form the other night. Yes...it really was staring directly at me. I was reduced to a bit of a state of paranoia which caused me to utter the following statement that is now on many a profile of those present:

"Crappity crap crap crap...I'm going to get killed by Bambi."

Steelhead Town Meeting: Ferrets & Airships

The citizens of Steelhead gathered for their weekly town meeting. There were many "hoooos" regarding the arrival of St Helens. As I was still a ferret, I just got comfortable in the front of the room on the floor...
Afterwards, the Baron--who was a tiny critter himself--and I chatted...As Lunar rode on Tensai's airship, which was veering crazily around the room...For more information about events in Steelhead, please see HERE.

Steelhead Mt St Helen's is Here!

Steelhead's latest sim--Mt St Helen's--arrived! Here I am at the top looking over the whole sim...
I love when a sim is brand new and everything is being terraformed and added to it. I love the waterfall and trees...Some of us gathered by the fire with marshmallows...Later, I couldn't think of a better place to be a critter and chase (and be chased by) the deer through the woods...

Leftovers Dance

I went to Steelhead's "Thanksgiving Leftovers" dance as turkey bones...It looks like I ended up as soup stock...Hope you all had a great holiday!

Steelhead Shanghai Featured on "Designing Worlds"

Steelhead Shanghai was featured on the "Designing Worlds" show. Hosts Saffia Widdershins and Elrik Merlin joined Lunar, Tensai and resident Elegia Underwood on a tour of the sim. For those who might have a problem viewing the video below, you can view it HERE...

Steelhead Town Meeting: Steelhead Mt St Helen's Prebooking Available

The citizens of Steelhead gathered for their weekly town meeting. O'Toole had a very large drum to bang. You may find out more about local events HERE, but the big announcement of the evening is that Steelhead Mt St Helen will be arriving in December and is now available for prebooking!
What is that large mountain in the background? Oh, it's perfectly safe to live there...To summarize the info from Lunar:
Steelhead's sixth sim will be a rugged, frontier wilderness community in the Oregon Territories, tree-filled and more rural with unpaved roads. Steampunk is very much allowed as long as a western influence is present in the build. Think the wild Pacific Northwest and geothermal power. Industries such as logging, slaughterhouses, cattle ranching, shipfitting, and whaling are very welcome, and industry builds are allowed to spit out tons of smoke in the air as well as dump pollutants into the water (This was the era before the EPA).

If you are interested in living there, please contact TotalLunar Eclipse.