Mating rituals in a second life meat market

You know you're truly bored when you decide to go to one of second life's meat markets and profile perv.

I visited the Chamber on a Saturday night that I was free and Linda was not. It brought back good memories of when I first met her, though the lag was so great that I could barely move around.

Nevertheless, I managed to sit down and take a gander at the crowd.

The first thing any newcomer will notice is how silent the entire place is, even though the room and the surrounding terrace and stairways are chock full of avatars.

There will almost always be a few people who are engaged in some desultory local chat, and once in awhile some forlorn person will announce to the group how he's on voice, but for the most part the place is so quiet you could hear a mouse fart, as people mostly profile perv in preparation for the night's activities.

This is also because the first rule of meat marketing yourself is to directly IM people who interests you. Talking to someone (or everyone, as in a friendly greeting)in local chat can be effectively used to highlight attention to yourself in a crowded market, but for the nitty gritty work of actually reeling in the nightly catch, the privacy and intimacy of private IM is the preferred method.

Once you have settled into a good conversation, it is customary to physically move closer together, even though in Second Life you could be half a world away and still engage in all sorts of shenanigans via IM, up to and including frenetic and wild slex. Couples who are standing close to one another and facing each other are considered to be paired up, at least temporarily, and it is normally considered bad form to interrupt one of them with an intruding IM.

If things do not go smoothly, and the two find themselves either at odds with one another or suddenly bored, you might find them separating again after awhile in order to continue to profile perving other avatars. But if the stars align, then things get interesting.

Most meat market sims have separate play rooms, and you might find some newly-paired couples deciding to make use of the freebie toys in them. This is always good for a short chuckle to some of the voyeurs in the remaining crowd, who might by this time welcome any respite from the boredom of reading so many fatuous profiles.

The more likely scenario though, and especially in the high end sims where the customers are relatively old and well-off, is for the couple to TP out of the place and back to their more secluded and comfortable homes.

Probably one of the most-oft asked questions is whether these meat markets actually work, and the short answer is "it depends". Linda and I met in one such place (even though neither of us was actually actively looking for someone), so I do know in some cases you could find someone special. This is because the main advantages of such places are that (1) the presence of large crowds increases the likelihood you will find someone compatible, and (2) most people are there to find someone, so it's less likely you'll IM someone who'll be annoyed at your conversational gambit.

In the end, even if you're not really in the market for someone, hanging out in such places and profile perving is an interesting way to spend a few downtimes, even if only to smile and laugh at some of the funny profiles, or learn from the profound ones.

Happy New Year!

Lounging in the Wallaby at the cusp of a new year

Happy New Year to all second lifers out there! May the coming months bring you joy, and at the same time, may you yourself actively spread happiness to those around you.

The turn of the year for me is not only a time to look forward to the coming year, but also a time to reflect on what's come to pass.

For our second life stores it has been a busy one.

Timeless Treasures came into being earlier in the year, along with all the cool products that were created for it. In the meantime, Lemur Sensors continued to upgrade the rental box system, adding new features (such as daily rentals),that has made it into one of the more advanced offerings out there, while at the same time re-releasing the personal monitors to catch cheating partners. Finally, the Depraved Monkey released the Tusk sex toy, as well as the Angel Hunt game and the new BDSM Pussy.

All in all, we're pretty satisfied with how things went during the year. We even opened our first inworld store, although to be honest more could probably be done to make it more attractive to customers.

Going forward, our first priority is to get the Zombie Hunt out the door, followed by upgrades to the BDSM Pussy.

So, here's looking forward to all the good things to come in the new year. May your days be merry and your nights always kinky.

The Evolution of a Second Life Avatar

June 2011

I decided it would be interesting to document the evolution of my main avatar.

I've kept the same main ever since I entered second life in May of 2011, but the avatar itself has evolved slowly over the years, adding new hairstyles and outfits and skins, though I noticed as a guy I tended to wear the same outfits and hair for very very long periods of time (which must have bored the hell out of my friends, but that's another story).

I can't remember now which noobie default avi I chose when creating the account, but the same day that I entered I bought the avatar that would stick with me for the duration. Avatar Alfonso by Lilunai Laurasia, which I got for 115 L (yes yes I know I'm cheap) and which unfortunately has been retired and is not available from the Marketplace today.

June 2011

I run around SL in the default outfit of this avatar for probably the first month or so, which incredibly enough did not embarrass me at the time. Perhaps being a tattooed red-jacketed macho guy in torn red pants was far enough removed from my RL that the novelty took some time to wear off.

Nevertheless, by mid-2011 MK was starting to go around in less tattered outfits.

August 2011

I discovered in myself, alarmingly enough, a love for mixing and matching pants and jackets and vests and other paraphernalia from separately bought outfits in order to create a unique ensemble.

November 2011

MK's daily outfits became progressively darker and more flamboyant as 2012 progressed, and the normal glasses were permanently replaced by dark lenses which MK almost never removes, whether night or day (yes, I am a child of the 1980s). I also darkened MK's skin further to match my coloring in RL.

April 2012

In December 2012, after a hiatus of a couple months, MK changed again, with a new hair and shape, though the outfits tended to remain similar to the earlier part of the year

December 2013

This new hair and shape continued throughout the rest of 2013, though the avatar added a larger wardrobe as the months passed.

March 2013

This included new mesh jackets and pants, though the pace of change as always was almost glacial compared to the rapid staccato changes made by many females here in SL.

May 2013

In the end, I'm sure MK will continue to slowly evolve over time as I experiment with newer fashions or discover new skins and shapes that I like. He is definitely a work in progress, one which I've grown to love over the years.

A trip to the Yoshiwara Inari Shrine

I visited a Yoshiwara-based sim a few days back. For those not in the know, Yoshiwara was a famous red-light district in Japan in the 17th century.

I didn't go there to stare at the Geishas who walked around and engaged in intricate rituals. Instead, I wanted to visit an Inari Shrine located smack dab in the middle of this fleshy den of moral degradation (just joking!)

Inari is the Shinto goddess of rice and prosperity, and is primarily associated with agriculture, protecting rice fields and giving the farmers an abundant harvest every year.

I took some time to pay my respects, voicing my hope that the Goddess would wish me well on some agricultural-related projects I am involved with in the RL world.

Here is the SLURL for the shrine:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Milarepa/183/143/44

Grand Canyon

 I once visited the SL Grand Canyon awhile back...well, SL time, it was actually only last year, and did some skiing and was dutifully impressed. But I didn't know how large and cool the sim was until Tinka took me up on a balloon ride to survey the place.

A place to definitely visit in SL  especially with someone you care about.

Dancing the night away

I don't actually spend that much time in SL, and when I am inworld I'm usually either sailing or slaving away on some toy.

But I do take some time to enjoy chatting with my closest friends, and in the past few days have had the pleasure of dancing the night away with my wallaby, Marie, so here are some pics of us doing the moves. In RL, I actually dance well (though I sing atrociously), so even though I can't hear the music in my SL dances I do appreciate the cool moves.

We like spending time in the Alanis bar because late at night there is almost no lag in the place, and very few people.

Awww, we look so suave ;-)

I believe she was kissing me here, or doing something similarly intimate. Cheeky girl.

This reminds me of a movie I once saw (Airplane!) where the guy a la Staurday Night Live boosts the girl up and hurls her flying into the air. Check the video above if you haven't done so already, hilarious movie. Ah, the 1980s.

We also spent some time dancing in the Alanis Pavilion, and the BDSM theme of the place shows itself in the statues of figures in various states of undress and compromising positions.

Tinka yesterday also introduced a BDSM sim (The Old Guard BDSM Club) with beautiful stained glass windows and a cool atmosphere, though I could not see the rezzed couple dance balls and we had to dance using single balls.

Exploring Crow's Nest in the Blake Sea

Marie Monk and I set sail from the Baltic area, deep in the eastern reaches of the Blake Sea, and traveled west by sail for the island of Crow's Nest.

If one looks at a map of the region, the relative isolation of this island is quite apparent, situated as it is smack dab in the middle of the Blake Sea.

As we approached the island, the first thing that loomed in the distance was the enormous lighthouse, which at 85 meters tall is supposedly the tallest such structure in the Blake Sea.

As I eased The Wallaby closer, we were suddenly engulfed in a thick fog that made the entire aspect of the island somewhat sinister, though we could not help but be astonished at the beauty of the place.

A thuck thuck thuck sound also heralded the approach of a red helicopter, which landed in a helipad on the island and disgorged two furries, who came down to greet us and marvel at The Wallaby.

I moored the sailboat and we clambered out and up the steep stone steps, pausing for a while to read two signs posts that gave some history about the Blake Sea and some tips on what not to do when sailboat races are in play.

Blake Sea was created to cater to the sailing community in Second Life after the USS (United Sailing Sims), which owned a vast number of sims and represented the sailing clubs in SL, threatened to "jump ship from SL".

As time passed, the USS allowed other interest groups such as the Fighting Sails (informally known as the "Pirates") and the aircraft communities to extensively use the area as well.

We continued our climb up the stairs to the base of the lighthouse itself, which was inaccessible and barred with a chain gate, and discovered near the helipad a monument to one of the sailing community's worst disasters, when in 1979 a storm killed 18 people during the Fastnet Race in the Atlantic.

Far below us we spotted The Wallaby as it gently bobbed in the slight ocean swells.

We decided to risk death by taking pics on the helipad landing point as well.

As dusk approached I anchored The Wallaby and retired to the cabin inside and the restful bed.

And was surprised to discover in the morning that a sail race featuring more than 10 competitors in fast boats had started, looping in close to the island and back again to the start point again and again!

It was a surprising and satisfying end to the exploration of Crow's Nest in the Blake Sea.

Exploring the Nautilus Grand Canal

Sailing languidly through the sims of SL on the other hand, allows people to actually take time to look around, and spend time visually exploring their surroundings. They are part of the environment, submerged in it, instead of hovering hundreds of meters up and looking at it from afar.

One of the dreams I have is of exploring little islands in a yacht, doing my research on native species while I sail serenely from one unexplored tropical lagoon to another. In SL I have the chance to do that, though obviously the SL experience is quite lacking compared to real life.

Nevertheless, the thrill of discovering something that I had never seen before, of finding something beautiful and fascinating in the morass of everyday things, can be just as deep and fulfilling. Call the SL experience a practice run, a harbinger of hopefully things to come in RL.

In SL of course people can TP and fly and do all sorts of things that we normally can't. But in some ways I think this detracts from the thrill of discovery. Flying over diverse landscapes and TPing from place to place creates a fast pace of life that may cause one to lose sight of little things in the environment that should not have been missed.

Sailing languidly through the sims of SL on the other hand, allows people to actually take time to look around, and spend time visually exploring their surroundings. They are part of the environment, submerged in it, instead of hovering hundreds of meters up and looking at it from afar. This makes sailing one of the best ways of seeing SL, in my opinion, and once in awhile I'd like to show people some of the places I visited while sailing the seas of Second Life.

The little island of Barbarossa sits by itself on the western part of the Blake Sea, just across from the Nautilus Continent of the Linden mainlands. It is the gateway to the Nautilus continent, one of the Linden mainlands.

The island itself is quite small, but with a lighthouse, beach chairs and outhouses, and some moors for the occasional seaplane and ships.

It is however a frequent passing point for ships and aircraft. The beautiful sailboat in the pic below passes an old vintage airplane, which is obviously below 70 meters in the air and thus breaking an formal rule between the sailing organizations and the flyers.

I had been sailing west and had stopped by the island for a rest stop, and happened to notice in the distance the outlines of a massive structure.

Intrigued, I set sail westwards towards it, passing by one of the coast guard vessels that patrolled the area for miscreants.

As I came closer I realized it was a massive tower, decorated with silver dolphins along its many decks and fronted by a golden statue from which spouted fountains of iridescent water.

In front of the gargantuan structure were plaques that commemorated the builders of the surrounding area.

And this was when I noticed a channel that led into the mainland proper, a canal that thrust into the continent and allowed passage to sea-going vessels like The Wallaby. So I sailed on into the canal, and noticed that the thin strip of land which was protected land held structures that looked like ancient Greek temples.

At the end of the canal I came upon the most massive gates I've ever seen in SL, flanked by tall walls made of stone.

The gates were made of some bronze-like metal, with elaborate dolphins embossed on the front faces. I sailed bravely through the gates.

Dwarfed by the immense walls that flanked my now-miniscule sailboat.

Until I finally came upon a circular area where the canal ended.

Above me loomed the walls of this citadel, and beyond them buildings of various types and history. I circled round the closed arena, still using my sails, but had to start my engine on the way back because the wind as usual was blowing east and it would be rough going upwind in such a narrow passageway.

As I passed the gigantic gates, I clicked on them and to my surprise they closed ponderously and with great dignity, sealing for now the secret passageway to the heart of the city.