Musings in Search of a Muse

A woman I work with noticed I've been kinda low lately and sent the following to me in e-mail:

Chris Hunt Top Ten List

proverbs 3:5 Lean on, Trust in,and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own understanding

1. Greets me every day with a pleasant hello

2. makes sure our team has an updated call list

3 i value your input

4 always willing to help

5 the Chris i know never backs down from a challenge

6 has a wealth of information concerning many subjects

7 His candy dish is always full

8 shares his snacks ( i am getting a little hungry)

9 Is a doer of the word and not just a hearer

10 took the time to pray for me ( i'll never forget that)

It's always nice to know when you are appreciated, isn't it?

And what is Proverbs 3:5, you ask?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

Looks like I'm a good builder. This birdbath is attractive enough to tempt all kinds of birds. Maybe it should be bigger, though.

Thanks, Uccello. You are my favorite bird!

Long distance relationships seldom work. Despite starting off as neighbors and eventually sharing a castle together, we were really a thousand miles apart (well, 956 miles, give or take) and closerthanthis at heart.

The affect you have had on me probably never could be calculated, but suffice to say I am deeply, profoundly changed because of you. You loved me for who I am and I never thought that would happen again. Thank you for everything you have done for me and for the friendship I know we will continue.

My direct Flickr account address has changed (a vendor issue, I guess). You can now find it here.

So this pooch comes along, a red huskie by appearance, and just lays at Lydia's fountain in the Park today. He scratched now and then, did a little sniffing, and leered at the trees, but he just lay there beside the rose on the fountain base.

Okay, it was me. I have a dog avatar (AV or avie) now. I need to get a collar in case the pound patrol comes by some day. I'm impressed by the craftsmanship in the AV. Motion is natural, the prim work (the parts that make up the character) are excellent, and it comes with animations for things like barking, tail wagging, sitting, and as you see here, laying.

So, let's figure something ... in SL you might see me as a dog, a blue bird, an orange/yellow Pegasus pony, an orange human or orange alien, a rock hopper penguin, Bob Keeshan, a cartoon dinosaur, a monk, Montgomery Scott, or a half-dozen or so other incarnations many of which may also sport a dragon, mouse, or one of several cartoonishly-themed cats on my shoulder(s).

The chorus from M.C. Hammer's "Addams Groove" really sums up life in Second Life:

They do what they wanna do, say what they wanna say
Live how they wanna live, play how they wanna play
Dance how they wanna dance, kick and they slap a friend

One of my favorite activities in Second Life (SLY) is to build things. In some ways it is more like drawing than what one might consider building, but it is really a compromise. Glue, nails and other fasteners aren't needed, but objects called prims are put together to form a new object, like the fountain below. In this picture the outlines of various prims are highlighted to make them stand out from their usually appearance. A skilled builder took the basic shapes, stretched them and added textures along with animations to make a rather attractive addition to any garden. And it probably took an hour. Maybe less. In real life (RL), this would have taken days, if not weeks.

The shelves in the next two pictures took me less than an hour including making a studio set for photographing them for my sales catalog.

It helps that I had a ready model and didn't have to hunt one down. I wish she had picked a different outfit, but I don't pay her so I can't be choosy.

Later in the day I built a store vending machine, a cape to wear, and some rather attractive footbridges I have to add to the catalog. If I don't sell anything it is not a total loss because I still have fun making things.

For reasons beyond my ken, I was in a rather stroppy mood after getting home from work last night. Sadly, I took it out on Kala. To remedy the situation I decided to be the Blue Bird of happiness. Fortunately, Kala was kind enough to play along. From top to bottom: Kala found me lolling around on a log stump. She bumped me over and sat down so naturally I snuggled in close (wouldn't you?). After I failed to find a way to sit in her lap she figured it out (clever lass). Then once she had me on her lap she surprised me with some kisses. This is not how bird flu is spread. Then she got playful and had me sit on her shoulders. Very cute.
Thanks, Kala, for being patient and understanding. Maybe this is why I love you.

A manager in a team meeting yesterday wanted to rally the troops at the mobile services company that I work for by giving figures on how popular text messaging has become. Maybe I shouldn't have told her about users in Europe. Then just today, another reminder showed up in the news:

"British mobile phone users send an average of 3.6 text messages and make 2.8 phone calls a day. Fifty-one percent of the 16,500 respondents sent at least six text messages a day but only 15 percent made six or more mobile phone calls in a day" (source).

That's a lot of thumb action! Nothing compared to a colleague of mine. She sends an average of 3500 txts a day. And she has a marvelous story about txting in her sleep. No wonder she and I watched the Oscars together one year, all via txt.

Many people seem to think I'm intelligent. I guess a large vocabulary used properly does that. I'd rather be clever. Sometimes I am, but I read something in a great story about an archeological dig that I never would have thought to do.

"Modern-day Turkish coins will be left with the reburied items as markers to show the area has been disturbed, just in case archaeologists many centuries later dig the site up again, Gokay said."

Well, maybe I would have thought of it. Who knows? Something I do know is that I used to be more clever than I am now and when I've mastered something to a point that I'm satisfied, I stop being clever on that topic.

Guess I'm getting old.

Now I think I'm comfortable. Something about the Lydia Rose Memorial Park always bothered me. Maybe it was that it didn't have a pond or stream. In any case, I've been thinking for sometime about moving it to my house lot, Columbo's Sanctuary.

Then Kala said something that set the move in motion ... she wondered why I kept a cottage. Was it a bachelor pad?

Well, no, I just thought it was beautiful. And it looked great on the lot. It seldom had furniture and when it did I rezzed it as needed. It was cute, compact, and I'd some fun with it.

But as I said, it was time. I razed the cottage and built a platform with torches to hold the snuggle rug (see bottom picture) from the Park and floated the relaxation pool above it. I also expanded the pond, as shown in the top picture. The dock was added to make walking easier but I might put out some fishing gear and put some koi in the pond. Aside from the expansion and some extra vegetation, the pond is untouched.

Then I moved over the picnic table and other items from the park. I also bought a nice oak tree, some bushes, and flowers.

While I know that I'll be endlessly tweaking things I'm much happier about the park. It's going to be a nice place to spend a lot of time enjoying.

Here are coordinates and links for the new locations:

Lydia Rose Memorial Park (Nangrim 224,48)

Columbo's Workshop and Sanctuary (Nangrim 160,8)

Why some people shouldn't a allowed to use technology

People there have lots of time on their hands.

Another stunning photo from the war front. Every day I open Yahoo! News and the lead photo splashes out, usually of war. I think if more people saw these and the other images I've seen there might be less support for conflicts. Even a simple portrait like this one at left is disturbing. Despite a tired yet determined look about him, it is clear this man is haunted. Is war worth that?

It kind of takes the funny out of cartoons like Scott Adam's chronicles of the horrors of the office place.

99.99% of the customers I deal with as a customer relations representative for a major wireless service company are wonderful to work with. But that teeny minority that calls in with an anger-chip make be forget all the rest. I have no idea why this last guy was angry, but he took it out on me just because I was being pleasant. He didn't even want me to say "Goodbye".

Why do people do that? And when has anger like that ever served a purpose. I love everybody, but there are times I can't stand them.

::::sigh::::

"So far this year Orlando has recorded 33 homicides — just three short of a 1982 record, and with almost half the year left. Continued killings at this pace could put the city made famous by Mickey Mouse uncomfortably among the top 15 for the highest per-capita murder rate in the country" (Yahoo! News).

Proof, again, that cities should be banned. Okay, that's a bit far reaching, but give me the rural life. I'd rather shop in a small country store than a supermarket or walk down a meadow lane rather than a side walk. And I'd much rather have the crime rate of a small farm community than that of a metropolitan area.

Part of what draws me to Maine — aside from family — is that there are established communities with most of the services and many of the benefits of a large urban area without problems of the same scale. Part of me would love to live in Orlando as I know someone very special there, but the town I know is too congested, crowded, and flat for my tastes. It is no Kittery, Maine.

Birthday Week at the Lydia Rose Memorial Park wasn't quite a whole week. I changed the theme drastically today. It now features elements from the Lost Gardens of Apollo, one of my favorite places in all of Second Life. A relaxation pool some 80 meters above the property is the highlight and from here spectacular views of sunsets and moonrises are unfettered. A quick teleporter ride down takes one to a great snuggle rug with wine, roses, and a fire sconce. Several couples can relax and unwind while sharing company. This picture shows me sprawled on one of the many sumptuous pillows. In the background is a new memorial fountain for Lydia. Elsewhere in the park is a roaring campfire with benches. I need to fine tune a few things, but it's working out rather well.

Another activity of late is dancing. Some friends opened a new club [The Moore or Less Club, Nangrim (113, 131, 72)] in my neighborhood and you'll often find me and Kala dancing there. Here's an overhead shot of a large group from a recent night. I gave everyone hand-held sparklers and someone else gave out "fire feet" so these effects combined with the club's great lighting to produce a very fun atmosphere.

Kala and I were there early and we played with a number of our effects toys. Here I have my Purple Burst effect on one of my feet. Very colorful. The dance machine near the club's ceiling kept us in perfect synch. I can't dance at all in real life, but here I was another Gene Kelly.

This is Kala's Marilyn Monroe look. She removed the skirt extensions for dancing, but still looked hot.


She was so inspired by all the dancing that she put some dance aids back at the castle. Here's us using my favorite. We look pretty good together in this dance, especially when the music stream on the land plays the right song. I also bought a dance machine like at the Moore or Less Club.

I love to dance with Kala. Probably 'cause I love Kala.

While Kala has been spending money on dance aids, I've been collecting critters. My latest is Compagno, a dragon to wear on my shoulder. He makes dragon sounds, breathes fire, and moves his tail and wings when I walk. These shots do not do him justice. His skin is highly detailed and has a sheen to it. Very realistic, especially with his blinking eyes. Uccello has a blue dragon named Lizzie.

Other critters include a couple mice for my other shoulder, a cat in a Superman costume, a cat in a baby's onesie (complete with binky), and a unicorn that blows soap bubbles. I bought the mice and the dragon while the cats were prizes I won. All of them are real conversation starters. As are the penquin avatar I got free and the "follower" critters that keep up with me when I walk without being attached.

Americans can't escape sweltering heat

"Insanity. Insanity!" she said.

After a long sip from her bottled water, Kennedy added, "This is not fit for human beings. Without air conditioning, I don't think many of us could last like this for too long."

Yes, as a former History teacher I know what people did in these circumstances before the introduction of chilled air devices, but I still find myself asking "Well, what did people do before ....?" That's a knee-jerk reaction, I assure you. But like many I am accustomed to the luxury of avoiding the heat by going indoors to enjoy my air conditioner.

Not here at work, mind you. At my desk right now it is 80 degrees Fahrenheit with almost 55% humidity. Both number rose to those marks in the last half hour and I expect to see yesterday's highs of 82 degrees and 55% beaten handily. Of course, no one worked on our building's aging plant until the heat wave.

Lots of time yesterday and I did nothing. I had planned to take roses to my Lydia for her Birthday, but depression and the thought that yesterday's intense heat would have ruined the blooms before nightfall kept me from doing even that.

Mostly I slept ... usually a great respite from depression ... or hung out in the Lydia Rose Memorial Park on Second Life. I decorated for a birthday party, cake and all, plus took lots of pictures, but didn't think once to post any here. I'll update this post with pics or make a new post when I get home from work. I e-mailed one to myself at work, but system limitations don't let me post pics to Blogger from here.

And my girlfriend was bummed out about something. I don't know what. Overall, a cruddy day. At least today is Monday.

Update 06:35PM: Here are the pix mentioned above.

Some of the most impressive art is a by-product of war. Consider Art Spiegelman's MAUS, a brilliant study of Nazism, or the output of Hollywood from the same era.

But since Matthew Brady wielded his glass plate camera in the American Civil War, photography has been a singular medium to capture the depth, breadth, feeling, action, and consequences of war. Lately, pictures from Lebanon have struck me as ideal examples of this. Consider the following:

Each in turned stunned me when I first saw them and they still give me pause for reverence when I see them again. Truly awesome in their technical excellence, these photos also show craftsmanship beyond compare. More importantly, they illustrate what it means to be in a war, the subject being an art form itself. War is creativity applied to destruction, yet out of it we find creativity documenting and explaining the chaos. Thus we have a Mobius strip of conflict and harmony, forever separated but parallel in their creation.

Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum strikes me as genial, intelligent, and well-spoken. Sadly, I feel that he is far too conservative to serve the interests of the Commonwealth. That's why I was glad to see the following story this morning:

Santorum's rise in the Republican ranks has been speedy, from state chairman of the College Republicans during his days at Penn State to congressman to No. 3 in the Senate GOP leadership. An unabashed conservative, he has been something of a political misfit in Pennsylvania, which backed Democrats Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.

This election year, Santorum, 48, is widely regarded as the most vulnerable incumbent. By double digits, polls show him trailing rival Bob Casey, the state treasurer, namesake son of a popular governor and a conservative Democrat (source).

You would think that a conservative Christian such as myself would support Mr. Santorum, but I feel that he blindly backs the current administration in lock-step fashion far too often. What the Senate needs now are innovative, independent thinkers.

By act and heritage, Bob Casey is such an individual. He has been an outstanding State Auditor General and an outspoken member of his party. Like his father who was denied a speaking place at a party convention because of his opposition to abortion, Mr. Casey stands with his beliefs rather than tow the party line. I like that in a politician.

"Red Buttons, the carrot-topped burlesque comedian who became a top star in early television and then won a 1957 Oscar with a surprising dramatic turn in Sayonara, died Thursday. He was 87" (source).

My best memories of Mr. Buttons are from his appearances on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts and similar programs where he would send the audience into fits of uncontrollable laughter with his "Never had a dinner" routines.

In later years, Buttons became a favorite at testimonial/roast dinners with his roaringly funny "Never had a dinner" routine. He cited famous figures who had never been so honored. Examples: "Abe Lincoln, who said `A house divided is a condominium,' never had a dinner"; "(Perennial presidential candidate) Jerry Brown, whose theme song is 'California, Here I Go,' never had a dinner." (When he did "Buttons on Broadway," he altered the routine and named people who never did one-man shows.)

"He would always have a list of people (who never had a dinner)," said comedian Norm Crosby. "He would come up with these wonderful lines and break everyone up. Red will be missed" (ibid).

Of course his film career is legendary in that he was one of the first comedians to win an Academy Award for drama (1958 for Sayonara). Any performance by this skillful wit was worth watching, though, and I enjoy catching his infrequent appearances on the tele. We will miss you, Mr. Buttons. God Bless.

"Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean."
That's the winning entry for this year's Bulwer-Lytton Prize, a contest "which challenges entrants to submit their worst opening sentence of an imaginary novel."

Read more about it here.

My favorite is from a few years ago: "It was a dark and stormy night, and the rain falling in my whiskey dampened my spirits."

I had a date last night. Kala, my Second Life (SL) girlfriend, and I were going back to The Lost Garden of Apollo, but she stood me up. Instead, she went shopping with my SL "sister" (who doesn't give permission to release her name here so I'll just call her Sis). Here's what I know about their evening:

They went to the Isle of Lesbos. As the name implies, men aren't exactly welcome. That's good for Sis as she doesn't welcome men, either. I know Kala is straight so I wasn't worried. At least I think I shouldn't be worried. My sister is as attracted to Kala as I am. Hmmmm ...

And that's all I know. Still no idea why I was stood up. But, I worked on making a teddy bear, installing a bed in the castle, and generally wandered around. So SL is a lot like Real Life in that I can get stood up. Go figure. At least I can fly unaided in SL. A big plus over RL.

CNN reported today that, June Allyson passed away Saturday at age 88. Sad enough news in its own right, but sadder still that no one I work with knew who she was. Fame is fleeting, I suppose. Admittedly, while I can picture her in a half-dozen or so film and television appearances, it took me a while to recall the name of even one of them. Sad, indeed.

What sort of legacy will I leave? Will I be remembered beyond a faded etching on a tombstone? I don't know. What is more important is that I have eternal life with our Father in Heaven. And that's where I hope someone as wonderful as Miss Allyson now finds herself.

Finally, Kala visited the Lost Gardens of Apollo with me. This has to be one of the most beautiful places in Second Life or even Real Life I will ever see. We snuggled up as pictured here and had a wonderful, deep, and mature conversation.

Get your mind out of the gutter. Not mature, but grown up. She's a wonderful person and I really enjoy spending time with her. Too bad we will probably never meet.

Here's a pic that I forgot to publish the other day: us in front of the castle. She put on a Gorean dress and I donned my Nehru jacket. Closest thing I could find to Medieval wear. I've got to work on skirt alignment. If you look closely, one of the jacket skirts is discombobulated.

But I might not get around to it anytime soon ... I just bought a really nice tux. When I get a pic of me and Kala while wearing it I'll post it here. I even got a tux for Mortimer, my pet mouse.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) is a bit too long, acting by some of the principals is too wooden or too insincere, and unconnected plot twists are a bit too numerous.

All that being said, I enjoyed the movie. The art direction is superb, Keira Knightly is a comely wench no matter how bad the acting, and there are some genuinely funny moments. I'll have to wait until the third movie to see if I want to put this one on my DVD list, but it did encourage me to watch the first movie again, as soon as possible. It was clearly a superior movie.

When did "Back to School" sales start in July? I walked into my pharmacy today and the aisles were filled with pencils, notebooks, backpacks, all kinds of specials for school.

::::sigh:::: This is why I don't like to go shopping. Retail has become too crass.

No, not Jesus .... the most famous carpenter. Me. Last night I built a cabin in Second Life. Kala and I took a class on building wishing wells and later one on building a cabin. I didn't learn anything new, but it was good practice and we got some wonderful resources. When I get the time I will fine tune the cabin and take pictures to post here. Otherwise, not much to write about. Sorry.

A news story appeared today that reminded me that all great thoughts have already been thunk and are only recycled. Read the following and keep in mind the 1997 film Fierce Creatures:

Fake agency offers ads on hookers' thighs

Wed Jul 5, 7:59 AM ET

A Dutch design student bored with conventional advertisements has set up a fake online agency offering advertising space for beer, cars and TV stations on prostitutes' thighs and cleavage.

On his website http://www.instoresnow.nl/, Raoul Balai also proposed painting brand names on zoo animals and floating huge billboards off popular beaches to get vacationers' attention. "I was getting sick and tired of advertising everywhere," Balai told reporters. "But I don't want to preach, and I thought satire would work better."

Far from taking his ideas as a joke, an Amsterdam zoo had its lawyer threaten Balai with a defamation suit after his website depicted fish from the zoo bearing the brand name of a frozen fish company.

Prospective customers phoning his fake agency are kept on hold and bombarded with sales pitches until they give up.

Now do you remember one of the advert schemes from the movie? Branding zoo animals with, like the Absolut tiger? More proof that John Cleese, one of the script writers, is not only a genius, but a seer, to boot.

Ordinarily I wouldn't believe something this drastic could happen, but now I don't know. Everything is getting branded, and people like it! Some of my co-workers are upset that they can't wear their brand-name T-shirts at work. C'mon! Almost all designer shirts come from the same factory regardless of brand. Why do they want to pay to be a billboard? It's not like they are supporting a cause or something.

The only advertising shirts I have are from my brother's garage and since it is 500 miles away from where I live the message probably isn't reaching the target audience. But it is fashionable and the younger set tells me it is cool. For my part, it was free. I never turn down free clothing.

Nope, didn't blog a word yesterday and I had plenty of time. The 4^th was a holiday at work so I got to stay home. Well, actually, I got to stay in Second Life (SL) .... this is getting addictive. I did a lot of exploring, bought a couple birdie avatars for my characters, and worked on furniture to sell.

And I gathered pics from around the 'verse for a friend of mine. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have posted some here last night, but I didn't think of it until now. Maybe I'll think of it when I get home and update this post.

I did get some laundry done so it wasn't a total waste of time. Hopefully tomorrow will be more productive. The abode is in need of some serious cleaning and I really should look at my mail after two weeks of apathy.

But I really like building furniture in SL and have several projects in mind. Plus, I have to get them loaded into the sales system and talk to my partner about marketing them. With any luck I'll start earning some money soon.

My neighbor Andy took me to his church today. Very nice service and the Bible school kids put on a presentation. The big benefit (aside from spiritual) was that I was home by the time my usual church started services.

So I had time to watch Ball of Fire (1941) with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Despite being a wonderful film, it was remade as a Danny Kaye semi-musical by the same director (Howard Hawks) just 7 years later as A Song is Born (see also this post). Interestingly, Mary Field played the same character in each film.

Don't assume that because a remake was done that the original was not good. Marvelous characterizations by the supporting cast more than anything else make Ball of Fire an outstanding film in its own right. First class writing and direction follow to make the whole a wonderful package. And thanks to TiVo, I now have copies of both movies. One day I'll have to throw a film party with both. It will be fun to make comparisons.

Later in the day I went on a building spree, making tons of furniture for sale in Second Life. Otherwise, the day was a pleasant blur. I look forward to having Tuesday, my next day off, be the same.

For a little while now I've thought on and off about what I would name my private island. Endless variations on my daughter's name cycled through my mind as did Italian versions of some of my favorite words and phrases (Italian is a beautiful language Isola Uccello = Bird Island). But yesterday I was reviewing past Word of the Day e-mails that I sent colleagues as part of my team duties and recherche popped up.

recherche \ruh-sher-SHAY\, adjective: 1. Uncommon; exotic; rare. 2. Exquisite; choice. 3. Excessively refined; affected. 4. Pretentious; overblown. OR Sought out with care; choice. Hence: of rare quality, elegance, or attractiveness; peculiar and refined in kind (source). Sometimes spelled recherch'e.

Now there's a great word. It even sounds as lush as it's various meanings. French can do that sometimes, though I usually find the language harsh. If I ever get a private island, that's what I'm going to name it, though. Recherche ..... it flows.