Just A Quick Post

This is just a quick post to say that I'll be posting some awesome stuffs more this week. I've been running around lately trying to accomplish tasks like a mad man. Actually, I did do a few pictures last Monday to blog some poses, but Tabby doesn't want those posted because well... we're both naked. Soooo.... I'll just post the links here of InWorld Magazine's latest issue --->  CLICK ME! and DavidHawk's article on Second Life Wrestling in OI Magazine ---> CLICK ME!

See you later! Peace out!



P.S.
I think J.K. Rowling's newest book, Casual Vacancy, is wonderful, to say the least. 

Fang and Power

Quick post before I finally head in. *rubs eyes* 

Skin - Birth Skins Fang Straw (990L; Featured in InWorld Magazine! Thanks for the Review Copy!)

Pants - [ BuFu ]Prod0.7_BaggySlim_POWER_ BlueClear (329L; Thanks for the Review Copy!)

Depraved Fair

Quick post to inform everyone that Razorblade will soon be having their awesome Fashion Voodoo fair this upcoming Aug. 10 - 30, 2012. It's still quite long while til that event, so there's plenty of time for you to start saving up! \m/

Skin - Akeruka Mark (shown at InWorld magazine's latest issue; Thanks for the review copy!)

Shirt - 22769 [homme] TGGS open shirt and tee w. slimc.chefron denims (mesh item at The Gallery Gift Shop; pants shown in previous post; Thanks for the review copy!)

Pants - Razorblade Jacket Worn Blue (Mesh; Thanks for the review copy!)

Bears and Skins

Three things.

First, check out PFC's Son of Odin, and you'll definitely want to own it! The details are just mindblowing! I can't even begin to describe how psyched I was when I received a copy. Get it in 3 styles (polar, black, and grizzly). Each of the styles have the same content in the folder. You can just pick how you want to wear it on your own.

Also, if you've not received yet a copy of InWorld magazine's latest issue (Face of InWorld), head on to stores with InWorld Magazine kiosks (Vero Modero in this taxi) and grab one now. Redgrave is only one of the skin creators that generously gave a review copy of their David skin for my column.

And lastly, head on to Finesmith and grab one of their accessories for only 100L each. I'm not really sure when the sale will end, I'm just glad I bought some from the store before it did. \m/

Ok, so that's it for now. Will post more later. *yawns and waves*

Skin - Redgrave David (1450L; Thank you for the review copy!)

Clothes - PFC Son of Odin (500L; Thank you for the review copy!)

Necklace (on left) - Finesmith Back-to-Nature (100L Sale)

Awesome!

I just thought that I'd post here the items that I reviewed in my Toys For The Boys section in InWorld Magazine's April Issue. Again, if you've not grabbed it yet, go get one at Vero Modero kiosk. \m/

Hammer - Scorpion Lab's Santo Hammer (1200L)

Spider Avatar - Lost Haven's Noble Weaver (900L)

Dragon Avatar - SeaWolf's Juvenile Dragon (1200L)

Dragon Avatar - Sea Wolf's Adult Dragon (1800L)

Yes, that crazy woman sitting on one of the saddles on my neck is Tabby.

Dragon Avatar - Sea Wolf's Ancient Dragon (2400L)

And there's Tabby again with her guitar. lol.

Dragon Avatar - Sea Wolf's Biped Dragon (comes with any of the SeaWolf Dragons you buy)

Summoned by Tabby. : P
Yes, Mistress. Right Away, Mistress. Would you like some tea with that too, Mistress?

Roleplay Article

My editor had suggested I write a part two of this article for the next issue, and I already have it made and done. All that's left is submission for it.

I did, however, had a huge mental block on how the next story should go. But my wife was very awesome enough to help me shell out ideas, and she was the one who actually gave me a theme for Thriller's part two. Please watch out for that one and continue reading InWorld Magazine!

Also, if you have the time, please do check out my article at SLEnquirer here, and support Fashion For Life 2012. It's going to be ending soon. Don't miss out the chance to grab those awesome items from the event, and help contribute to Cancer Research in the process.

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ROLEPLAY

THRILLER

by: Luc Fray

This is the story of a zombie who wants to become a dancer.

Who is this zombie?, you might ask.

Well, his name is Archibald. 

And he is me.

I was born from a long line of zombies in a small town in Alabama. Please don't ask me how my mother gave birth to me and my 3 other siblings. I don't know how my parents did it, and I don't want to think about it. Because, one, well, they're my parents, and pardon the pun, it's always disgusting to think of them humping each other's brains out. And two, they're zombies. It's hard enough for us to walk without dropping a limb or two, it boggles the mind how they're able to do it without...uh...losing some...bits.

I don't think about it.

No, seriously.

Okay, maybe sometimes.

But it makes me want to jump off a cliff afterwards.

Anyway, back to the story.

I was raised in a crypt in an abandoned cemetery, bred the proper way to be a good little zombie I was expected to be. My family is pretty strict about maintaining the norm and status quo. Zombies are zombies, and humans are food, my parents always say. In a way, I guess they could be called conservative and idealists. 

We try to stay away from the living and keep to ourselves, but most of the time, there would be thrill-seekers and adventurers who'd wander into our place, and well, let's just say that we feast and celebrate on gaining new members. Oh, we get hungry too, but the chow bell only rings at 12 AM, so that's the only time we're allowed to pass past the borders of the cemetery and travel to the nearest town. I think that rule was put up to control the supply of brains. We figured if we ate all the townspeople in one go, we'd have to move to another town. Bad idea, since it would attract the attention of the nation. Mostly, we target the hotels and inns. There are plenty of travelers that visits the town, and nobody would really worry if they're gone.

Pretty cool, huh? Bet you thought we, zombies, don't think about that. Or at all.

But yeah, we do. 

I guess everything changed, however, when we raided the town again for our midnight snack. I sneaked---well, as much as a zombie could anyway---in inside one of the hotel rooms, but found out that it was empty. I surveyed the area. Checked on every corner, and still there was no one. There was a blinking box in front of the bed though, and somehow it caught my attention. A man was there. With a flock of zombies behind him. And they were moving in sync and in quick motions. Fascinated, I couldn't look away. My eyes got glued to them.

I was hooked.

I never knew zombies could move like that. Usually, we're just dragging our feet and raising our arms like we want to choke the first person that we see. Or you know... like fat kid reaching for that 3rd helping of pie.

I marveled at the zombies' movements. I really did. I must have stared unblinkingly at the box before the strange phenomenon finally ended. Since then, I couldn't get the image out of my fractured head. I kept thinking about how it would be cool to move just like them. Day and night, I obsessed about it. I'd tiptoe off during noon, when everyone's sleeping, to the town and tried to find everything out about those peculiar motions. I found out that they were called dancing, and that there were many different types of it.

After that, I started practicing. Secretly, of course. It wouldn't bode well for my health if my parents ever find out I've been breaking rules and doing something good normal zombies aren't suppose to be doing. They'd break my neck off (not that it's not yet been broken, but I'd have to go search for my severed head. And well, it's really hard doing that if your eyeballs have rolled off to some deep creak in the ground and the rest of you is blindly groping to reattach the parts to where they belong) 

Admittedly, it was difficult---both moving my body to the beat and hiding the situation from my fellow zombies. Oftentimes, a body part would fall off, like my intestines when I'm doing a belly roll, or my brains when I'm doing a headstand. And don't even get me started with krumping. Or the Harlem Shake.

But for all it's worth, I love how it makes me feel.  I love doing it. I love the rush that I get when I'm moving my feet (we don't really have Adrenaline or any other hormones anymore, but you get the idea). It's awesome! I usually lose a couple of toes when I'm practicing (specially when I'm moonwalking), but to heck with it! When I'm in the zone, I'm in the zone.

'Sides, I tie them back together anyway with some piece of cloth torn from my raggedy tux...

Pretty soon, the hopes rose. I started dreaming about the outside world. I imagined what it would be like to perform in front of others. To dance like there's no tomorrow. To move wildly to my heart's desire! (Yeah, so the thing's not been functional ever since I could remember, but now and then, when I'm dancing, I could catch it beating the tiniest bit. First time it did, it surprised me a lot. I thought a moth had gotten lost again and fluttered inside my rib cage.  But nah, it was just my poor shriveled heart.)

So on it went.

But there comes a point in a man's (or zombie's) life, when all you want to do is break lose from everything around you, and that time came when a band of traveling zombies visited our little home.  They said they were heading north. To New York. Now, normally, I don't eat fruits as I live faithfully to the Brain Diet, but this time, I badly wanted to get a crunch of that Big Apple. 

The following day when it was time for the traveling zombies to hit the road, I stowed away with them. 

So, now, here I am. Trying to get by in this city where dreams are made of. I've appeared in a few music videos and dance contests, but they were all small parts. I tried out as an instructor in this Dance Academy, but I scared all the students away. I guess it must be the maggot that suddenly popped out of my nostril when I introduced myself to the class. I told them it was just nose hair, but they didn't really believe me. Currently, I work in a jazz theater (finger snapping makes the digits fall off too) owned by another zombie that I've met around the place. Actually, all of the actors are zombies, and we don't really get a lot of good reviews (some would say it's racism), but critics who gives bad reviews would suddenly be found dead and brainless the next day.  Or part of the crew.

Yeah, we don't go hungry around here.

Ok, I got to go now, though. Curtains about to go up. I'll send you postcards, and I'll tell you how it goes. 

Before you ask, no, that's not sauce. I'm a zombie and we save on the ink.

RRRRGGGGRRRRRRBBBHH! (Zombie Translation: Bye for now!)

Toys for the Boys

I would just like to post here in my blog my raw versions of the articles I've written for InWorld Magazine. I am assigned two sections--- Toys for the Boys and Roleplay. 


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TOYS FOR THE BOYS

WANTED

by: Luc Fray

Back when I was new to Second Life (and even until now), I would go from sim to sim, just minding my own business exploring around the place. During one of these misadventures, I chanced across one western-themed sim with circus zombies that bite at you if you come too near to them. I tp-ed home to escape from them, only to return moments later with my GPMG, proceeding to blast the undeads' heads off. Though they'll never completely disappear as they keep rezzing every so minutes, the experience was a very effective way to destress from all of the day's hard work.

Pretty soon, I've introduced the place to Tabby. She didn't want to come at first because she didn't want to get nightmares from staring too long at the target zombies, but somehow, I've managed to finally drag her along with me. After that, she enjoyed shooting rockets and missiles at the poor monsters, every once in a while muttering, "Die, you ugly nasties. Die!" 

Ah, fun times.

Just recently, however, I've had the chance to talk to the co-owner of the sim, Miss whisperZ savon. She and her partner, Dex Wardhani, runs the store, D-Z Guns, found also in the zombie-infested place, where they sell different types of guns---Western, Sci-Fi, and Steampunk. According to Mrs. Wardhani, they started up the store in 2008 after they had built the sim. Taking exceptional pride in their work, they understand that a gun should have the 3 basic important elements to be called a good weapon--- Amazing Designs, High-quality Sounds, and Smooth Mind-blowing Animations--- something they believe D-Z guns have. That, and a brilliant customer service. D-Z guns cater to all types of customers, ranging from vamps to nekos to bikers to cowboys... Anybody really that just wants to engage in the virtual shooting game. 

Though the two creators take a lot of time to perfect a weapon before putting up on the shelf, they love their creations enough to work patiently through them. When asked how do they usually test the guns before selling them in the store, Miss Savon replied that she and Mr. Wardhani blow each other up with the weapons to test the caliber of their work. Currently, they are in the works of a new gun, but their latest release is the Sci-fi gun, Mini Redemption.

Just like any other weapons, Mini Redemption has to be in mouselook mode to work functionally. Standard Specs includes your choice of making it Full Auto or Semi-Auto Operation, Ammo Capacity Combined is 120 Rounds, Low Lag Operation, and compliance with MTAAII, Stable, NCR, and Fair play The weapons work in any collision based RP system like DCS or CCS. 

Mini Redemption also has Drop Menu Items such as Silencer (which attaches or detaches the silencer), Dual (which changes single gun mode to dual guns), Single (the opposite of Dual Mode and changes dual guns to just a single weapon), Laser (turns off or on the laser sight), Ammo (pops up the Ammo Menu), Firemode (your option of Full Auto or Semi Auto firing), and Effects (which turns off the muzzle flash). 

Not only that, Mini redemption also has 11 bullet types that you can choose from the Ammo Menu--- NPS, Nuke20, Nuke90, Heatseek, Xpush, RP Bullet, Orbit, Damage, Lagless, CC Bullet, and my favorite, the Shocker. Truly, D-Z guns live up to the expectations! Miss Savon mentioned that it is their mission to give their customers something different and special to keep them coming back.

Currently, they don't have shooting tournaments in the sim, but they are on the works of a zombie-shooting contest event that would be held twice a week with a live dj. When asked what advice she could give to interested gunslingers, Miss Savon simply said, "Just keep your guns ready and loaded."

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JUMP BALL!

by: Luc Fray

If you're an avid fan of Basketball like I am, then I'm sure you'd be very interested to hear, if you've not known yet, that Second Life has had a Virtual Basketball Association for quite a long time now. I've had the honor and pleasure of interviewing the VBA owner, Miss Emerald Ishtari, and her marketing VP, Miss Gladiola Mistwallow, to gain a bit more insight into this game.

First launched off in December 2010, VBA was a collaborative effort between the founders, Don Asadar and Emerald Ishtari. Back then, basketball was one of the major sports not represented on the grid, and through hard work and research, they've managed to bring the game into Second Life. It wasn't an easy job, but over time, she gained a wonderful staff of Vice-Presidents, Managers, and Coordinators to help her out.

Currently, VBA is looking for SL residents to be a part of the game. Everybody is all welcome to join and try-out. VBA is, at the moment, recruiting interested players, coaches, dancers, and team owners. According to Miss Sasha Silvershade, VBA Lakers Owner, "I got involved because I like basketball and wanted to expand on a community I already have with the Lone Star Cowboys of the SFL. I plan on the Lakers becoming the best team they can become and have fun doing it all the way to the VBA championship."  Terrell Merryman, owner of VBA Bulls, showed confidence and competitiveness in saying, "I am involved with the VBA because I love the idea of sports being in Second Life. I want to be an active leader in making sports big and enjoyable for SL citizens. As for what I expect for this upcoming VBA season? VBA championship for the Bulls of course!" On the other hand, Miss Wednesday Mohindi, owner of the VBA Knicks, voiced that her reason in being involved in the game is just for the experience and knowledge of being a team owner and knowing that she can be successful at it. She added that, "Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have."

If a potential VBA player would like to join one of the six teams present--- VBA Bulls, VBA Celtics, VBA Knicks, VBA Lakers, VBA Rockets and VBA Spurs--- they need to meet the appropriate height requirement for the position being played. They also must wear a special attachment to link them to the active game in the scripted court. However, to be recognized, one must need to drop in an application form in one of the drop boxes in the Alpha Cold sim. And as for official game rules, VBA has the same ones as the standard ones in RL basketball.

When asked what is the most important skill in playing VBA, Miss Ishtari replied that a keen sense of teamplay and a clear understanding that SL is not always compliant are most necessary for a more enjoyable experience. To buy items to play the part of a b-baller, head on to Red Dog Gear, the main supplier of VBA's uniforms, although fan gears can still come from various content creators pending league approval.

VBA season will open on late March 2012, but there are still trainings and practice matches that new players can join in. Official tournaments, on the other hand, are held at the home team's court, while Monday evening games are held at the VBA Alpha Cold Arena. 

As parting words, Miss Ishtari has this advice and challenge to our dear readers, "If you think you have what it takes to be a part of the Virtual Basketball Association in SL, then come on by.  We live and breathe the motto 'GO HARD OR GO HOME!  This is more than just a game!' "

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ERRATUM/ADDENDUM:

"According to Miss Sasha Silvershade, VBA Lakers Owner... "  should have been instead, "According to Mr. Sasha Silvershade..."

I deeply apologize for the typo and mistake.