Uglyness

Having survived Hurricane Katrina in South Louisiana and it's aftermath (which was probably the worst year in my life) I found solace and comfort in the wonderful friends that I've made over the years in Second Life. Some of those friends I opened my heart to and shared many personal stories and experiences with.

The the possibility of another nightmare was revisited last week with the arrival of Gustav on the South Louisiana coast. I was one of the fortunate ones this time, but so many people again have lost their homes to the destructive power of a hurricane.

On it's tail now comes Hanna who is battering the East Coast and soon to be followed by Ike who will likely enter the gulf again. Having lived thru a hurricane I can truly say that I would never ever wish that kind of horror on another individual, no matter what my relationship is with them.

Having said that, the last paragraph that I found on this blog post just stuns me. Not only because I know it's directed at me personally, but just the overall nastiness of it.

Taking a vacation

I'm going to be away from the theater for the month of July, taking a bit of a vacation you could say.

SCT has been open for almost a year and a half now, and the shows and schedules have grown. Finding reliable help has been difficult and doing it all on my own has been a drain.

I love the music, the support that I've received from the fans and the musicians has been overwhelming and touching but as it stands now I'm heading down a path that I can't afford.

There have been lots of discussions on fees and costs in the SLMC in the past and on the SL forums. Discussions of venues opening and closing.

Live Music, for the venue owner is simply a loosing proposition in SL. Unless you have other means of income, like rentals or you're a venue owned by a musician and supported by his/her income the cost of staying in business is simply prohibitive. Add the stress of worrying about how to pay for it, failed promises of support, plus the hours and hours of work involved and burnout is just around the corner.

So I'm going to take the month of July off and reassess what I'm trying to accomplish and where I stand. I may come back with a different business model, or not at all. I may have to get a RL job to help support my addiction to SL and live music, in which case my activities will be curtailed anyway.

I figure I'll get it figured out... :)

Fable Sinatra Mega Wedding

The big day finally arrived!! OMG, what fun.... Fable Sinatra, the awesome little goth girl from the UK, just prior to her performance at Sailors Cove Theater, married a group of 53 friends and fans.

Ceremonies began with Soundcircel Flannagan taking the stage and playing the wedding march. If you've never heard Sound play his guitar you are missing out on something incredible. When Fable took the stream, Tessa Amos, our naughty nun officiant read out the vows, the crowd answered I DO and it was done, Fable added 53 more wifey's to the every growing family. Fable gave all of her new wifey's rings, and Sound passed out one of a kind T-shirts to celebrate the day.

Mucho thanks to Sound and Tessa, without whom this could never have taken place!!!

Special Event at Sailors Cove Theater

Posting this early so folks can get ready..... we're going all out wacky on Monday night at Sailors Cove..... See, last week during his show he got a wild hair up his....hat.... and decided to put up the money for a hat contest.... now how whacked is that?

Announcing the BIG ASS BACKWARDS HAT SHOW!!!
Where: Sailors Cove Theater
When: Monday June 6, 2008 7:00 pm
Who: Vaughan Michalak Performing

Prizes: 1st Place- 250L
2nd Place- 500L
3rd Place- 1000L

Vaughan Michalak plays fun, ROFL funny and sometimes (funny) tragic songs. A RL musician in sunny Florida does covers of songs you never heard of from artists you've never heard of.


RULES: Hat can not be over 10 Meters wide or tall (no megaprims)
Hat can not consist of more than 10 prims
Hat must be a hat (don't wear a house or a boat)
Hat must be worn on your head
Clothing must be worn with the hat
Clothing must be worn if you're not wearing a hat (Jehovah Witness Strippers excluded)
Regular Suicide answering machine will be in place (the star button may not be working due to over use)


Judging to take place at 7:45, you must be there to win!!!

What to do.....

Agg..... SL is eating my laptop .... well not really... well, sort of... Between my fan squealing like crazy and my video driver going on the fritz, the last couple of days have been a nightmare. I've had to send my laptop to HP for repairs and have been using Bent's.... I will never again, I swear, complain about his complaining..... this really really sucks and as soon as I can afford it I'm going to buy him a new one...

Getting into SL has been awful and I've basically stayed out of world as much as possible. Last Thursdays shows were exhausting and I never want to do that again....

Fortunately good news has come down the pipe today, my laptop is on it's way back to me (YAY!!).... I should receive it by tomorrow afternoon... and I've vowed to sit out on the dock all day until it arrives (give me a chance to get some color on my legs, I've been cooped up down below for waaay too long :)

So tomorrow night I'm gonna celebrate and party big time during my shows.... YAY!!!

Whisperers

They whisper in secret, spreading their venom, striking fear, questioning, accusing, abusing. Some succumb, not questioning, believing the lies, the hate, the misery. Some just remain silent in fear of rejection or fear of exposure or just in response to the age old guilt trip.

They demand a decision, taking of sides, accuse betrayal in disagreement when it's actually their own actions are betraying the friendship.

Who does this to a friend? Who empowers these petty, insecure little whisperers? Why are they empowered? Why are some so afraid to stand up and say enough is enough.

A friend stands by you, a friend is there when you need them, a friend makes no demands, a friend does not demand a choice between them or others, a friend just loves.

I am here if you need me, I will answer your questions, I do not hide and I do not demand loyalty you are free. I am the same as I've always been except perhaps a little stronger than before...

Big Show Day

Maximillion Kleene, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Thursdays are my big show days at the Cove and yesterday was no exception. I had a great lineup of regulars and specials, nine whole hours of live music with lots of great tunes and great fans.

I started the day a bit frazzled. RL got into the way and I got stuck on the road making myself late for DaveCorbett Darwin's show at 11am SLT. I dot there about 20 minutes after show start time and found that Dave wasn't streaming yet. We worked out the problem and Dave put on a great set. It was at this show that I finally had the pleasure to meet LittleNoisyFox, what an absolute delight!!! Soon as I saw him I threw out a tiny critters dance machine so he and another tiny that showed up were able to dance.... I wish I had gotten a picture, I always have so many IM's going on all at the same time, plus trying to pay attention to the show, somehow the pictures just seem to fall into the background.

Huge lineup of shows, starting with Davecorbett Darwin at 11am, Fyrm Fouroux at 1pm, Joaquin Gustav at 2, the awesome Fable Sinatra at 3. After an hour break we continued with Vincent Merricks at 5, Maximillion Kleene at 6 (this was totally awesome, cause Max is known for jamming with musicians all around the world and this show was no exception. First he brought in Digby Smalls for one song, and then Keiko Takamura, who had just shown up for her set for another.... what a treat!!) Keiko took the stage a bit late and was followed by Winters Kanto and Heath Elvehjem. All together a great day of music!!

Surprise!!

Surprise!!, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

OMG, what a great bunch of friends I have. Monday was my RL birthday and I had a nice lineup of shows and surprise surprise, Truelie Telling and Vaughan Michalak came bearing gifts and party supplies.

I didn't get a picture of Truelie's set (dagnabbit, was having so much fun I forgot to take pictures!!) But I did catch one of Vaughan on stage and one of Wendy & Lonnie

Thank you to everyone that came out and helped out, you are all the best!!!

Thru the view finder

thru the view finder, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Last night I was out flying around and I took a look at the cool things that Lario has done at Lewis rock. I loved this view finder. It's so realistic.

I have a big week of concerts coming up, that's exciting but will also be exhausting.

Lilli & Bot

Sometimes you make a friend in SL that is so very special. I met Lillindrial through an inworld game called Tiny Empires that my friend and SL Musician Kaklick Martin got me involved in.

Lilli and I have been through some hard times together, but things are really looking up for her. I was so honored when she asked me to stand in her SL wedding as maid of honor. What a wonderful thing. Such a moving ceremony. I sincerely wish Lilli and Bott all the best.

Fyrm sings the chicken song

Fyrm sings the chicken song, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Thursdays are always my big music day at SCT and I usually have a huge lineup with only a few breaks between sets. All of the shows are my favorites but one in particular stands out each week as really fun.

Fyrm Fouroux is a British musician. He has a deep bass voice and a ton of unique original songs and even his covers come out sounding a bit like a sea shanty. While I love his music I really also enjoy the bunch of fans that come to this show week after week. We're always cutting up, laughing and poking at each other, and sometimes we poke at poor Fyrm too.... this week he sang his Khuna(sp?) chicken song and I rezzed a chicken on stage while he was singing. After that he sang a song about a blob and I blobbed him (tho I don't know for sure that he saw that one).

A few weeks ago we had a Leather & Latex party at his show, this week we decided we needed another themed party, so next week we're doing a medieval themed one.... oh and Sally is building a stage bed for it..... don't ask... just come see for yourself :)

Flying my Fizz

Flying my Fizz, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

I finally broke down yesterday and bought a Flying Fizz. I still have a lot to learn about it and hope that I get the chance to read the documentation soon. So far I've only taken it out a couple of times and have only sailed it once. I hope to do some customizing to it really soon.

I sailed it in fun mode and only flipped it 3-4 times :P

Slideshow from my Flickr SL Music set

hmm... I just joined Slide.com.... let's see if blogger allows me to post a slide show in the blog. This is from my SL Music set on flickr.

It worked!! yay

Sunrise

Sunrise, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

I love watching sunrises and sunsets in SL. Even in RL I've collected a bunch of photos.... what is it about the sun that fascinates? Is it the glow it puts on the things around us? A promise of warmth and renewal?

I've been experiencing a renewal these past few weeks. A warmth generated by friends that surpasses the sun. Standing on my porch and watching the sunrise over Fishers Island is a reminder of the calm after the storm, the deep and lasting friendships, the joy of new friendships and learning new things.

SL give me the opportunity to share these things with others. It may be rocky and hard, but the sun rises every day, right on schedule and reminds us of new beginnings, new friends, new creations.... how exciting!

Music Returns to SCT

Heath plays SC, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

After a week of canceled concerts, music returned this week to the Sailors Cove Theater. OMG, the crowds, the response, the support has been just overwhelming. I am so touched by the SC Sims community and the SL Music community's concern and the outpouring of love.

It's been a long day but the music soothes the soul and allows one to rest peacefully.... my pillow calls.

Rocking the Clubhouse

rocking the clubhouse, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Sometime some things just happen and you find yourself in a hilarious situation. Take yesterday morning for example. I saw a couple of dots on the map at the clubhouse and went over to say hello. Sat down and started to chat when Benny arrived playing a violin. It was so sweet, next thing I knew everyone was pulling out their instruments and we had a wild party going on.

What fun....

My waterfall

My waterfall, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

is back!!

Sailing season opening day

Sailing season opening day, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Yesterday we celebrated the 2008 Sailing season opening day with a huge boat parade, races and party at the Mowry Bay yacht club. It was a lot of fun getting out, seeing some people I haven't seen in a while and just relaxing and having some fun.

The turnout was huge, the sim maxed out with 40 people and the boats and barges were awesome ;)

Community Gathers

community gathers, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

It's so nice when friends gather in your community and chat. I've been spending as much time as I can with friends lately. The support has been overwhelming.

Got my waterfall rebuilt today, I cried. So many have offered to help.

Banned from Flickr Group?

From:	FlickrHQ
Subject:	You have been banned from the SL - Sailors Cove Group
	Hi - You have been banned from the SL - Sailors Cove group. You will not be able to rejoin this group unless a group administrator removes the ban. Note: This message has been sent to you by FlickHQ on behalf of SL - Sailors Cove. If you want further clarification about the reason behind you being banned, you'll need to follow up with someone from the group, because FlickrHQ has no say in an individual Group's administration.

SL=RL at least the effects do

This has probably been one of the more depressing few days that I've ever spent in SL. I consider myself a happy go lucky person. I trust people and I make friends easily. I try to live by the golden rule- treat others as I would like to be treated.

I do have a tendency to give my opinion when asked or if I see something that I consider wrong and I won't bend to the will of others just because they have more power or even power over me. That sometimes surprises people, I guess because I don't try to come on strong like a bully, but instead try gentle persuasion and diplomatic conversation but when I think something is wrong or hurtful I stand my ground, period. Somethings are just wrong and I'm not a "yes" girl.

Giving my opinion has resulted in sad reactions this week. My intentions have always been honorable. I don't seek power I just seek peace. I believe in compromise. This week I've run into a polarized wall. Assumptions have been made about me and things have been done to me and I'm really sad. Not for me, because I'll be ok, just sad for others that can't see thru their own hurts, prejudices and grudges.

I refuse to give people power over me, I will not be blackmailed or extorted. Fortunately I'm married to a cop in RL and those that attempt to extort or blackmail me, or others will come face to face with RL because the fine line between RL and SL is being breached and we're moving into the realm of law and criminal intent. Federal law at that.

Sitting around listening

Sitting around listening, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

I've really come to enjoy Fyrm Fouroux's concerts on Thursdays. It's a real casual event. Good friends come, we sit in the sand in front of the stage and joke and kid why Fyrm entertains us with his hilarious tunes.

This week, Bratt brought some Fish & Chips for all of us to enjoy. He rezzed them on the stage and we were all able to take a plate. LOL, what fun :)

Fanci Rides her butterfly

Fanci Rides her butterfly, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Fanci is one of my dearest friends in SL. Yesterday I found her out at Plum Gut waiting for the tako races to begin. She pulled this beautiful butterfly out of her inventory (a gift from a friend). I just had to snap a pic of it. I'm still amazed every day at the wonderful things to be seen in SL

Racing Bent

Racing Bent, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Sometimes it's just nice to take a break and go out and have some fun. Bent has been practicing a lot with his tako lately, and is really interested in racing. So yesterday I pulled my tako out and we took a turn on the CC race course in the new sims at Sailors Cove. It's so beautiful out there.

Bow Roof Cottage

Bow Roof cottage, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

I finished another house today and am just waiting to package her up. Shes a bow roofed cottage with addition in the back. I'm really proud of this little house. She has one bedroom, living and kitchen/dining with a nice patio/deck out back. I put in NDE doors and windows for privacy. She should sell pretty fast, hopefully.



I've been building houses for sale for the past few months in order to raise money for the theater. The cost of paying musicians to play is becoming prohibitive and I'd really like to add more shows if I can raise enough to keep her going.

Sailing the ACA

Sailing the ACA, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Owen Owens gave me an updated ACA boat yesterday and I broke open the package today and gave her a whirl... wow, what a fun boat to sail.. But lord, don't get caught in irons!! I ran across Patadx who was also trying his out and we raced the new Celebration Course. I did ok and was actually ahead of him, until I got to Kokomo Beach. I took a wrong turn and started circling the island from the north instead of the south. Pat caught up to me as I was turning around and I got caught in his wind shadow on the far west side of the island. Needless to say he trounced me good as it took forever for me to get back underway.

Fastest point of sail was on a reach with the sails out one notch. I found I slowed down considerably when I was on a tight reach.

Leather & Latex

Group shot, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Ok, today is catch up day as I go thru all of my flickr pictures and post the myriad of things that have been happening lately. Last Thursday was a huge day at the SC Theater. In addition of celebrating the opening of 8 new sims at Sailors Cove, I had a big line up of music at the stage.

Included was a Leather & Latex party/concert. I'm trying to remember who started this, first of all it was Fyrm Fouroux, who showed up the previous week in what he described as a wet suit. Bratt Lunasea and Sally Silvera picked up the ball on the SLMC Forum and it turned into a huge party and photo shoot. The party ran all the way thru Fyrm's concert and into Joaquin Gustav's concert (which included a surprise visit from Al Hoffman)

What a day, what fun.... I actually did something I would never have considered doing, lol.... (this is definitely a new look for me... should I keep it? hmmmm)

Joja & Heath

Joja & Heath, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Sometimes something really beautiful happens to you. It happened to me on Thursday night. Heath Elvehjem was performing his regular weekly set at Sailors Cove when he proposed something new.

He rezzed another piano bench and asked for a volunteer from the crowd. I'm not quite sure how I got up there, cause I didn't volunteer, but he and the crowd called for me so I said, what the heck and jumped onto the bench.

Then he asked me to type some musical notes into chat. I did, and he took those notes and improved a brand new piece from them..... OMG, what beautiful music. This young man is so talented. He took a few random notes that I typed out and created a work of art.

It was probably one of the most moving things that has ever happened to me.

Facing the Slide

Facing the Slide, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Sometimes I do find time to play in SL. I haven't posted again in a long time only because I find myself so busy lately. Between concerts, building and estate business it's really hard to find time to just play, relax and enjoy the silly things.

This weekend I took a little time. We recently added 8 more sims to the Sailors Cove estate, and in celebration Fanci set up a bunch of fun things to do, including this water slide. Way cool!

Oh, and did I mention the Orca ride? OMG, these things are incredibly fast. I rode my own until he poofed, then hopped onto Fanci's and let her guide the creature. We ended up beached, poor whale....

***You Are An ISFP***

Found this on Ravishal Ramblings and had to give it a try :)....

***You Are An ISFP***

The Artist

You are a gifted artist or musician (though your talents may be dormant right now).
You enjoy spending your free time in nature, and you are good with animals and children.
Simply put, you enjoy beauty in all its forms and live for the simple pleasures in life.
Gentle, sensitive, and compassionate - you are good at recognizing people's unspoken needs.

In love, you are quiet and sweet yet very passionate. You love easily.
You have an underlying love for all living things, and it's easy for you to accept someone into your heart.

At work, you do best in an unconventional position. You express yourself well and can work with almost anyone.
You would make a good veterinarian, pediatrician, or composer.

How you see yourself: Sympathetic, kind, and communicative

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Incompetent, insecure, and overly sensitive


What's Your Personality Type?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyourpersonalitytypequiz/

Dave Corbett Darwin to Premier at Sailors Cove Theater

Sailors Cove Theater is pleased to present the SL premier of DaveCorbett Darwin LIVE at 11am SLT on Tuesday January 29, 2008

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sailors%20Cove/237/154/22

Dave was born 24.2.52. to Anglo / Irish parents in the Shakespearean county of Warwickshire, England. A strong smoky soul / blues voice together with a unique finger guitar style make him one of the most interesting performers on the current professional music scene.
Audiences of varied musical taste and of mixed ages find this charismatic artist highly original and entertaining.

Many top class recording artists have performed Daves original compositions.The most current is Deep Purple. A concert by the band and The London Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall features a song written by Dave. The album and the song”Thats why God is singing the Blues” are available world wide and are receiving enormous acclaim
from the worlds music press and critics.
Based in Germany, Dave tours extensively throughout Europe and Scandinavia.
Music Downloads http://www.bentdiscs.de

MTV at Sailors Cove

Sailors Cove Theater is pleased to announce that MTV's award winning documentary series, "True Life", produced by Ben Rosen, will be filming part of their new episode "I Live Another Life on the Web" currently in production during Keiko Takamura's live music concert at the Sailors Cove Theater and Park on Wednesday, January 23rd at 6pm.

Sailors Cove Theater, located on the beautiful sims of Sailors Cove and Fishers Island, is a privately owned non-profit Live Music Venue in a Beautiful outdoor park setting. The Sailors Cove Sims are a New England Sailing Community themed group of sims dedicated to providing SL residents an enjoyable low lag experience for their Sailing, Residential and Live Music experiences.

Sailors Cove Theater strives to bring you the best LIVE Musical talents of the finest artists in Second Life. We have regularly scheduled shows on a weekly basis and special appearances. Our calendar can be seen on our website at http://www.slsailorscove.com

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Sailors%20Cove/237/154/22
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Fishers%20Island/22/128/22

Monday Nights at the Cove

Mondays have turned out to be one of the best nights for live music at Sailors Cove Theater. Our lineup begins at 7pm SLT with the Lyrical Bard himself, Edward Lowell. Edward sings beautiful love songs and plays guitar while his wife Nancy plays the keyboards.

Following, at 8pm SLT we have a new comer to the SL Live Music Scene, Truelie Telling. Truelie, know as Tuff Ditties in the Nashville music scene sings a wonderful blend of bluesy folk tunes, all originals and unique.

Then at 9pm we have the awesome duo of Wendy Curtiss and Lonnie Rockett. These two sing a blend of originals and covers that will knock your socks off. Wonderful harmonies, skilled acoustic guitar (played by Wendy) and lovely songs wind up a great evening of entertainment at the Cove. This evening I discovered that a fellow SL resident had captured one of Wendy & Lonnies’s best songs in a machima video on YouTube. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy listening to them every Monday evening.

Joja and Distilled1 Rush

Joja and Distilled1 Rush, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Friday I headed over to Distilled1 Rush's venue to listen to Eva Moon. She's an awesome songwriter/singer and does some really fun songs. During the event Distilled put on his tiny leopard AV and I joined him by switching into my bunny. He was kind enough to let me set out my Tinies dance ball and we danced and goofed around for a bit.

Thanks for the great time Dist!

Truelie Telling

Truelie Telling, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Here's something that I'm really excited about. Tomorrow night, Truelie Telling will be making her SL Live Music Debut at Sailors Cove Theater. I found out about her because of a post that she made at the SLMC Forum. Listened to her songs on her myspace page and then contacted her inworld about performing at the Cove. She's a really sweet lady with a bunch of talent. She's funny, writes wonderful songs and has a lot to offer the SL Music scene.

I'm really hoping that we have a good turnout and keeping my fingers crossed that things go well.... she's gonna be big methinks :)

Check out her myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/tuffditties

NE church

NE church, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Another one of my builds. I'm really proud of this little church and hope to sell it on Onrez. I'm really enjoying building (except for the triangles) and hope to do more houses in the future.

Fanci & Patrick's House

Fanci & Patrick's House, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

I'm so proud of this townhouse I built. Fanci and Patrick are using it until they get their own home built and Fanci changed the exterior textures. She's done a fantastic job with both the textures and the landscaping around the house. Wow, it sure feels nice to see something like this happen to something you created.

New Build- Maple Leaf Cottage

New Build- Maple Leaf Cottage, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

I've been building houses for pre-approval and sale at Sailors Cove to help raise funds for the Theater. I really want to book more acts at the theater but the costs are prohibitive. I figure with house sales and the theater gift shop I should be able to raise some lindens to help out.

Jammin

and the group grows, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

What fun we had last night. After Keiko Takamura's show at the Sailors Cove theater, several of us were goofing off and pulled out some freebie guitars. Turns out that Manul had a really nice (not freebie) one that actually plays tunes. He cranked it up and a bunch of us jumped on stage, gestures wild and pretended to be our own band..... I was singing along, but thank god no one could hear me...hehe

Maximillion Kleene

Maximillion Kleene, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

Went to Max's concert last night at the Peg Leg Saloon. Not only is he one of the nicest people I've ever met in SL, he can sing like a dream. I was mesmerized by his voice and couldn't tear myself away from my headset. What a treat it is to be able to catch one of his shows.

Circe & Vincent

Circe & Vincent, originally uploaded by Jojamela Soon.

On New Year's day I attended Circe Broom and Vincent Merricks engagement party. What a crowd! One of the estate managers had to come and change the AV limit in the sim so everyone could join in. There was live music and a who's who list of attendees. When I left to return to my build there were 65 people in the sim. Circe was lovely in a lavender gown and Vincent as handsome as always.

I wish the couple much happiness, they're a great match.