Getting to Know Me!

Everyone has been passing around the Getting to Know You notecard for awhile now. At first I had no interest in answering it. I have a change of heart and decided to jump in and have some fun with it. Here goes!

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends. What you are supposed to do is copy the text on this entire note and paste it onto a new note that you’ll send. Change all the answers so they apply to you. And then send this to your friends including the person who sent it to you.

The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, Iif you did not know them already.
I know these things can be irritating and if its too much about rl for you, just ignore it :)

1. What time did you get up this morning? approx. 5am and my sleep habits are terrible. I can only do 6hrs of sleep
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds of course. A Girls best friend! Pearls are for girls!
3. What was the last film you saw? ummmmmmm ummmmmm (was that long ago)
4. Favorite TV show? Don’t watch much TV but try to keep up with Nip N Tuck
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? toast/muffin and coffee or maybe cottage cheese with fruit on top.
6. What is your middle name? Marie
7. What food do you dislike? I will NOT eat Calamari no matter how you cover it up
8. What is your favourite CD at the moment? don’t have a CD I like entirely. But a favorite is anything Carlos Santana
9. Favourite sandwich? Turkey on warmed sourdough, Alfalfa Sprouts, Honey Mustard, Mayo, Tomato, Lettuce, Swiss Cheese and Avocado. mmmmmm
10. What characteristic do you despise? Arrogance, Passive Aggressive and pimp mentality
11. Favourite item of clothing? anything I can wear braless
12. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be? Rio de Janeiro
13. What colour is your bathroom? cream
14. Do you make friends easily? Depends on the person. There are some people I warm up to very quickly and others it takes time
15. Where would you retire to? To countryside with 3-5 acres, beautiful lawn, trees and rolling hills. A modest house with wrap around porch. I will sip tea on the porch and enjoy the serenity and the love of friends and family
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Jazz cruise from Vancouver to L.A.
17. Favourite sport to watch? Don’t have one but I do like sports
18. How many towns have you lived in? 4
19. How many do you think will send this back ? -0- They will have to read my blog
20. Whats on your bedroom floor right now? *smile*
21. Favourite saying? You’re pumped.
    
22. When is your birthday? March 3rd (Pisces)
23. Are you a morning person or a night person? mid morning
24. What is your shoe size? size 7 1/2 to 8
25. Pets? None at the moment. I miss my german shephard
    
26. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with us?
    
27. What did you want to be when you were little? Doctor
28. Which talent would you most like to have? Mental Telepathy
29. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? You’re pumped
    
30. What is your favourite flower? Wild Flowers
31. What colour are your eyes? brown but changes
32. What was your favourite toy as a child? dolls
    
33. Summer or Winter? Spring
34. Hugs or kisses? both
35. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
36. Do you want your friends to send this back to you? Yes
    
37. When was the last time you cried? umm few weeks ago?
38. What is under your bed? Denzel Washington
39. Who is the friend you have had the longest in SL? Tiff
    
40. What did you do last night? cuddle
41. Favourite smell? Cinnamon
42. What are you afraid of? Birds flying around me
    
43. Plain, sweet, or salted Popcorn? Salted
44. How many keys on your key ring? 5
45. How many years at your current job? 16
46. Do you have any scars? yes, bruise easy
    
47. Favourite day of the week? Friday
    
48. How many people will you be sending this to? Not many. They will have to read this blog :)
49. What is your worst habit?
50. How old were you when you got your first crush on someone? 13
51. How old were you when you lost your virginity? where did you lose it? 20 and it was in the hills looking over the city
52. Ever been arrested? No
53. If you could travel back in time, where would you visit? I would like to go back in time as an observer of the Egyptian culture and Mayan

Well that is it and I promise you still don’t know much. :)

BOOTYLICIOUS

Thumper Boucher

When I first learned of Live Music in Second Life, there were two artist I never missed there performance –Flamingo Moe and Thumper Boucher. Overtime I got busy and lost track of them.

This week I rediscovered Thumper. My friend, ByteDreams and I attended one of his concerts and I was amazed at how he has grown on the SL music scene. He plays bass, guitar and keyboards. His music ranges from jazz, hip-hop, metal to indie rock. He refers to his style as Future Funk –and that it is!

Thumper/Darrell Phillips is former band member of Sister7 and currently plays with Sauce and DirtyWormz. He wrote, performed, mixed, mastered, and produced his current single, Average American Dad. If you want to find check on show dates, check out his blog at Thumper Boucher/Darrrell Phillips or give a listen to his music at MySpace Darrell Phillips.

What is so refreshing about Thumper is he is versatile and brings his own style to his music –funk! My favorites songs are Heavy, Dreaming in Metaphors and Shed. I love his music and hope you get a chance to check him out.

Please excuse the mess!

This blog has become so complicated that I cringe at thought it has become so much like my personality. So, in my attempt to get organized, I am experimenting with new layouts, re-categorizing post, adding topic tabs to make it easier for you to browse.

My blog has hit over 700 viewers and that I am very excited about. I do want to thank all of you who come here and those that keep coming back. It means these pages aren’t wasted and someone does enjoy what I do.

So, I hope you will like the changes being made and will return often. Please continue to visit me and don’t hesitate to leave comments. I enjoy reading and responding to them.

-One love, Mak

WyckedCanvas

What’s Hot in SL - Article for Esprit Magazine, April Issue

GLAMSL Magazine Fashion Show

It was an honor to be in the GLAM SL Magazine fashion show.  I was proud to be among some of the top models in SL .  The designers were LeeZu Baxter Designs, Nicky Ree, Serene Sensations, Artilleri, Ghost, Muism, Cubic Effect, Paper Couture, Maitreya and Cachet.  The show was fabulous and lag was a challenge of course.  I get such a rush after doing a show.  I can’t get enough of modeling :)…. view the video below, you can see me, lol.

The Skin I’m In

Well, here I am, my first day in SL working hard on creating my character. Finally, I am presentable to enter this SL world I heard so much about from friends in TSO (The SimsOnline). Venturing out, I roamed the land. One day, standing clueless as I did so well, this avatar landed in front of me. Wow, what a fine specimen!

I pushed myself into him trying to get a good look. I was drooling under his shadow in awe of his good looks. Then suddenly, he teleports his woman between us and she is impeccable as well. She is very friendly and they both offer me friendship. He instructs her to give me some education and leaves us to girly talk. She is curvaceous and well endowed. She had it all –the hair, the attitude, the booty, curves in all the right places and the dark skin. Man! I was identifying. She tossed me some clothes and a skin called Malibu. We part and I immediately go to work on my body to acquire that well endowed curvaceous body.

Now I am really looking good until I step in a store. Confusion set in. I had a difficult time deciding what would look good on my avie. I couldn’t get past the pencil thin models. They just didn’t look like me. Determined, I shopped till that last right click says no more funds and headed back to give my partner a show. The clothes didn’t look right on me and the colors were wrong. Well, he loves my full curves, but the outfits he hated and he announces my skin was not what it should be –dark. He knows how I angst over the right skin tone and not being pencil thin or too big. He took a photo of me nude. I gasp and he give me this big ass grin. Just like a man! He is bias! I go into a slump, a identify crisis. He listens and sighs. Tirelessly I hit the stores again. I don’t want to be just a clone; I am on a mission to find ME. 2 years later and an inventory full of shapes and skins, I am happy in my body and enjoy dressing it. I have found the middle ground and a nice booty.

I am sure the above is a scenario all too familiar with many first starting out in SL. I have observed avies in various shapes, sizes and skin tones. All are an expression of themselves whether it is fantasy, an imitation of themselves in RL or just the desire to create their own identify. I love it when I see that avie with the thighs, booty has the right amount of curve, full lips with an attitude and dressed to play it all off. I smile and think YOU GO GURL!!

At modeling school Makeda Cole was full of surprises. It wasn’t just that she had a large clothes wardrobe, it was also the way her whole look expressed her mood. She was the first one of us to get a professional gig, the first (as far as I know) to sign with an agency. She’s going places! But in this post, she talks about how she started.

(Skin I’m In is a repost from article I posted on the MODA blog site back in June 2007)

My Trip to Chichen Itza - Article for Esprit Magazine, Feb Issue

People from all over the world voted for what they felt were the top human builds in the world. Titled, the New 7 Wonders of the World, the top builds were announced in July 2007. One of the New 7 Wonders of the World is here in SL, the Chichen Itza Pyramid, on the Visit Mexico sim.

Interested, I decided to travel to the Visit Mexico sim to take a look for myself. I arrive on the plaza to a breathtaking view of the El Castillo Pyramid. The build is a project of the Mexican Tourism Board and built by Valiant Strangelove and Lester Nefarious of Advanced Virtual, a SL development team. The actual ruins were built by Selena Gateaux. To add a sense of what it was like the builders included structures such as the typical Mayan home, sweat lodges, waterfall and dense greenery. I recommend climbing the 91 steps up El Castillo to get a panoramic view of what was once a thriving commercial center of ancient Mayan civilization. At the base of El Castillo is a door where you will find a smaller pyramid housing the Red Jaguar Throne and Chaac Mool.

Next to El Castillo is the Temple of the Warriors with columns symbolizing warriors; the ceremonial marketplace that sells pottery, rugs, jewelry and art; and the Cenote. A must see is the Virtual Equinox where a serpent shadow is cast down the steps of the great pyramid El Castillo. The Virtual Equinox which runs daily from 5-8pm SLT.

If you are adventurous and love exploring SL, Chichen Iza is one place to add to your list. I spoke with visitors and they all expressed the same thing: they return because they have either researched more about the ruins and want to take another look or enjoy the tranquility of the build. I recommend looking at the reading material in the vendors to get more information about what you are looking at and watch the Chichen Itza in Second Life video at the estate on the beach.

More builds are in the works by this development team and I can’t wait to view them. I welcome the concept of bringing culture and diversity to SL and I hope this build is around a long time for everyone to see. Perhaps it will spark interest and people will make a RL pilgrimage to Chichen Itza to experience its beauty.

I want to thank Valiant Strangelove for meeting with me briefly to give me insight to their goal to bring culture and diversity to SL and Cosmos52 Taurog for giving me a guided tour and historical background of this ancient Mayan culture.

Reggae at its best!

IRIE VIBES IS SIMPLY THE BEST

For entertainment, I like to attend the Live Music events.  This particular night there wasn’t much happening –at least to make me want to’ stick around.  So, checking out events closer I decided to check out Irie Vibes.  I was pleasantly surprised and a venue I did not know existed in SL –Reggae.  DJ Doc Marcus did his thing spinning hot mixes and getting involved with the crowd.  I am glad I attended.  It was wonderful to see the dread heads and everyone was friendly and laidback.

Here is what is said about Irie Vibes:  Irie Vibes is simply the best and most popular reggae resort in SL. Exclusive ‘Irie Rockers Radio’ stream playing 24/7 Reggae, Lovers, Dancehall, Ragga, Soca and Roots Rock Reggae. Live DJ’s.  ome wine’ n grine’, jump up or cool down, dance, chill , swim, smoke and drink at Irie Vibes, the coolest outdoor and waterside venue in SL. All day and all night Reggae music.

Well it lives up to it’s description.  It is a modest club built on the beach.  It is a prime example of not needing to built texture elaborate clubs but play the best music, supply the energy and people will come.  There is also an outdoor mall where you will find everything Rasta. If it’s dreads you want it’s there, Black skins, Rasta T-Shirts, beanies, posters, sweatbands, jewelry, tats, ganja, the bong of course, animations as well as freebies.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Irie Vibes and recommend anyone who is interested in Reggae or like myself limited to a few commercial tunes but want to hear the real stuff –go check Irie Vibes. Get your Reggae on at Irie Vibe!  

KINGSTON TOWN IS REBORN

Having been energized by my visit to Irie Vibe, I decided to check out another place called Kingston Town.  There I was greeted by and delighted to meet two lovelies, Cleopatra Bingyi and Angelique DuCasse.  They were very friendly and eager to share.  Cleopatra gave a warm shout out to Irie Vibes where she started out a year ago.  Kingston Town is about a week old and plans are being made to connect with the rest of the community to promote unity and love.  I am impressed.  Isn’t that what SL allows us to do? –connect with like minds and taking it universal through group effort.  It is sweet build with romantic areas to relax and dance floors.  There is also a teleporter to other clubs in SL.  The Kingston Town group is also committed to the Warchild, a charity for children that are victims of war.  I have to bow down to their concept and wish them great success.  I hope to return their often for great music, good people and a good time.

It feels good finding unknown places in SL and meeting people doing their thing.  I have only begun to tap into what SL has to offer.  I suggest exploring SL and finding out what others are doing, break out of the ordinary and think about connecting global. 

I hope add a list of more Reggae spots for those interested.  If you are reading this, IM me in game or note in comments the clubs you recommend and I will add to the list below. 

If you want to listen to Reggae on your computer, click here for Burning Rockers and the crew playing for you in SL–listen and enjoy. 

REGGAE CLUBS:  Irie Vibes, Kingston Town, Tenchtown, United Rastifarians

 <Peace>