I am a ghost

So I want to take an imaginary poll about my post yesterday.  How many of you think:

1) My husband really is an Internet troll

2) I made that story up to add a bit of humor to soften criticism of a class of behavior you see all over the Internet

3)  Some parts of the story about my husband are true, particularly that bit about the pizza restaurant poll, but other parts are fiction

4) Who cares?

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In my internet travels, I have come to enjoy reading a few of the "mommy bloggers" who have made it big.  And by "big" I mean what started out as little blogs have turned into million dollar enterprises.  Two I am talking about today are Heather Armstrong and Ree Drummond.   Both are interesting people who write simply and eloquently about their lives.  I have followed them for years admiring their photography and writing skills.  Mind you, these blogs are carefully cultivated brands with staff, not moms sitting at their kitchen tables while baby naps.

Yesterday I learned an interesting thing.  Both of these women have large groups of "haters" who spend energy mocking them and writing about them and generally finding fault with every word they say and every action they take.   I was sort of stunned.  Why would someone hate a blogger so much that they spend time and energy creating other blogs simply to mock them? If you don't like what they say, don't read it?  Simple right?  Apparently not.

I think some of the hate is grounded in the separation between the Heather and Ree described on their blogs and the real people.  Readers assume that the "persona" is the same thing as the person, which allows them a false sense of intimacy.  Then, when there are hints that "Heather" and "Ree" as presented on the blog are less complex than women behind the brand, readers get upset and stomp around throwing down words like "hypocrite" and "fake."

What I wonder is what makes anyone think they know "You" just because you share a snapshot of a part of your life on a blog?

The image above is one of claudia222 jewel's ghosts and if you look carefully you can see a small blurry person in the background.  The ghost is the blogger, the blur is the real person.   Make sense?

Arguments on the Internet are the new black

After 20 years you think you know a person.

My husband is an Internet troll.  Its true.  He has joined a local discussion forum, under a pen name I might add, and he participates in the discussions of the day which range from politics, to the status of the local park to a heated debate about the best pizza restaurant in town.  He gets in there and stirs the pot just for kicks, he really does.  Now he will tell you he is just stating his point of view and pointing out when other people are being unfair like the time the new restaurant registered 500 new people within a few hours for the purpose of stacking that poll about who makes the best Stromboli.  But I know a troll when I see one.

The thing is, he does not point out the failures of a person's logic or their misstatements of fact.  He tells them they are too excited and that they are defensive or their criticism is too harsh or they have no business even participating in the discussion and if they don't like what people are saying they should just go away.  Then he sits back and enjoys it when the person he insulted and belittled gets upset and then he wastes no time pointing out...gee whiz batman...he was right all along.  I swear to you he has even envoked Godwin's Law!  I am so disappoint.

Now, I am not going to lie -- I have taken the bait.  I am just as guilty as *you* are of seeing something on the Internet and responding in a way that would not win me any awards for the most rudimentary of High School Debate competitions.  It is all too easy to respond pointedly when someone makes an observation  grounded in their own personal agenda and calls you a bully or perhaps a fundamentalist whatever the fuck that means.  But in truth, arguing with people who seem unable to rise above hyperbole and address issues without personal attack is a fool's game.

Yesterday I was a fool but today I will not make the same mistake.

If you want to read something that puts all the petty Internet bullshit in perspective please go here and see what Whiskey Day lives with daily.   I admire her quiet strength and incredible sense of humor not to mention brilliant original writing.

Uninformed Lag Posts FTW!

Last night I was in Second Life for a few hours.  I went to listen to Grace sing at Key West which is probably my least favorite venue in the history of all venues in the world. Ever. Why?  Because the lag at Key West is horrendous.  It is swimming in jello, grey people, crashing when I take a picture horrendous. It is focus my camera on the ground so I miss seeing my friends horrendous.  Key West is run by great people and they consistently have wonderful music there as well so I go often enough. Each and every time I curse the lag.

I don't exactly know why the lag is so much worse than at other places.  Perhaps it has to do with the build?  Maybe the textures harbour evil poltergeists who hate my aging laptop?   I really don't know.  I do know that Art Screamer with 55 some odd people in the sim was not nearly as laggy as Key West with many fewer people in attendance. Something is weird about it but I don't know what.

This morning I went to visit a sim where they restricted access to people who had a script load under a threshold they had established.  I have seen this kind of thing before and I think it is a great idea.  It is not hard to lower script load by changing out hair and shoes and such and it makes for a better experience overall.

Boring post this morning folks, but its all I have.  Sorry.  Look for more brilliant insights on a different day.  On a different blog.

<3
Ches

"There is a girl who still writes you...she doesn't know how not to"

(Photo credit: Shrug Dangle)

I have been listening to spoken word poetry by Sarah Kay and Kai Davis tonight.  They are completely inspiring.

"Still now, I send letters into space hoping that some mailman somewhere will track you down and recognize you from the description in my poems, that he will place the stack of them in your hands and tell you 'There is a girl who still writes you...she doesn't know how not to.'"  Sarah Kay

The SL art community is in decline? I don't think so...

Last evening I was reading one of my favorite blogs, written by that fully employed explorer Honour McMillan.    She linked to a post on the LEA blog in which the artists who created an exhibit called Aequitas, Field of View said, among other things, the following

The optimism present in the Field of Voices has been replaced by a sense of decline in not only the art community of Second Life but the world in general.

When I read this sentence my mind screamed "nooooooo." Everywhere I go I see art and artists and people engaging in creative endeavors. Particularly in virtual worlds I see people test the waters of their own artistic interests.  I personally have stretched my skills and put my self conscious fears aside to create in ways I never thought possible -- in part because of what I have experienced in Second Life. Sure sims close and when places we love go away it can feel like decline but overall? I just don't see it.

What I see is 20 sims donated by LL for the Linden Endowment for the Arts.  I see Burn2 succeeding independent of any support from LL.  I see privately owned art sims, like my own Art Screamer, visited by thousands of unique visitors during the first week of a fabulous new exhibit.  I see the art community donating more than $6,300 to Bryn Oh to support her sim Immersivia, literally in a single day.

I see UWA supporting the arts in all its forms for many years, and I see a thriving community catalyzed by the contests run by JayJay Zifanwe and FreeWee Ling.  I see new musicians and poets and storytelling -- there is so much performance going on that I can never seem to get to the shows I want to attend.  I could go on and on and on about the amazing art and artists in SL and InWorldz and....well...everywhere.

A sense of decline?  I respectfully disagree.

~~~

I took the image above on my phone.  It is an old abandoned factory with boarded up windows where local artists have turned the plywood into their own canvas.  Art is everywhere. Art is thriving.  You just have to look and you will see.

New UWA Machinima Challenge and guess who is a judge?

If you read this blog I am going to guess you are connected to SL social media.  So somewhere on your blog reader or twitter or plurk you have seen the news that the University of Western Australia is having another machinima contest.  The prizes are up around $700k L and I expect that amount to grow if past competitions are any guide. The theme this time around is Seek Wisdom and is described on the UWA blog as follows:

The theme is 'SEEK WISDOM'. How you traverse the metaverse in this quest is totally up to you...the Machinimatographer. What is wisdom? What path do you take? Can it be attained? Is it an unending lifelong endeavour? Can it be found? Should one choose to seek only in the realm of the virtual or beyond? Is one doomed to fail? Is wisdom the embodiment of someone... something... somewhere... somewhen? Is this but another JOURNEY?

I am really excited to see what the talented filmmakers in SL come up with this time around.  I hope you consider entering if you are so inclined and if not you really must watch the machinima people create. There usually are some real treasures submitted to this competition.

If you can down the long list of judges you will see my name.  I am very flattered my UWA friends asked me to help judge the contest again.

It is all about perspective

Last night I had a long conversation with an old friend. This is someone I have known for a while but someone I have never really opened up to on an emotional level.  In truth I have been having a rough couple of days (weeks but who is counting.)  A random conversation with this friend suddenly took a left turn down Serious Honesty Street and then a right up the hill at I Hate Being Vulnerable Avenue.  Before I realized what I was doing I was talking about some highly personal stuff and soft tears were running down my face.  I knew that the tears were coming as they have been building for a while but I never in a million years expected a random conversation with a casual friend would be the catalyst.

So what happened?  He said a very simple thing to me and the floodgates opened. He said "you give in to emotion too much."  Well it hardly looks profound now but what this wise beyond his years man explained is this -- its ok to feel the emotions you feel but you need to take a breath, count to ten, recite a poem, take a walk around the block or what ever it is you need to do to let the urge to act on that emotion pass.  Because those emotions, particularly the negative ones -- the unholy trinity of fear, anger and embarrassment -- will cause you to do things you may later regret. And guess what? These things exist only in your mind.  Yes, we create emotions out of thin air inside our little pea brains.   So feel that emotion.  Feel it fully.  And then let it pass.  Do not act while that emotion is running your brain because it is not necessarily your friend and it will sometimes make you do things you would otherwise not.

Ok he only said "you give in to emotion too much" and "let the emotion pass" and I filled in the rest.  What can I say, words are my thing and I specialize in the "wall o text."

The point is our perspective can change everything. On the days when I actively think "I am sad" I am guaranteed to be sad.  If instead I think "I am feeling sad for the moment but it will pass" I am setting myself up for a very different day.  The simple act of choosing to be positive, particularly in the face of a negative situation, can have profound effects.  No I am not saying positive thinking can cure diseases or find you a job or improve the economy.  What I am saying is we are in control of how we react to those things.  And, I certainly am in control of whether or not to act on my emotions.

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What is that photograph at the top of this post and what does it have to do with perspective?  I was using my camera to scan around "Spirit" by claudia222 jewell and I somehow landed on that spot.  I don't really even know where it is at this point -- it may have been inside one of her dragons or a flower.  It is hard to say. I just liked the colors and so I snapped a picture.  It seemed like an appropriate image to include here when I am talking about how we can look at our world from many perspectives and the way we choose to look can change everything.

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Check out the Art Screamer Blog!

Zach created a blog where we will post information about what is going on at Art Screamer.  Check out the post I just wrote that has links to the amazing reviews of Spirit by claudia222 jewell.    If you add us to your blogroll we would be most appreciative!

If you have taken photos of Spirit please feel free to add them to our group on flickr. The photography I have seen of claudia's work is every bit as astounding as you might guess.  People are playing with the atmosphere and the water to stunning effect.  Have a look here.  

SLurl to Art Screamers

Claudia222 Jewel's Spirit exhibit on Art Screamer - Blogger Preview Friday 2/10, Grand Opening Saturday 2/11

I know I said the new exhibit on Art Screamer would open at the end of the month. Well guess what?  We are ready and I am thrilled to announce a brand new, sim wide exhibit by claudia222 jewell will be opening on Saturday 2/11 at noon SLT. Entertainment will be provided by Jordan Reyne.

There will be a blogger sneak peak tomorrow, Friday 2/10 at 5pm.  If you want to be added to the access list please let me know or get in touch with Zachh Cale in world.  SLurl to Spirit by claudia222 jewell on Art Screamer

Here are some words from claudia about her work.

spirit   exposition from claudia222 jewell  

its been a while that i had a installation in sl and i hope  you all will  come and  join us at  the 11.2.2012 12 pm slt , when art screamer  sim opens its gates  

Trying to  make  things with mesh  is  a great new freedom that will enable many of us to learn more about general 3d  inside second life. 

This exposition is for me the  letting go of a long griefing , to let the spirits pass , and start new in peace . 

thank to art screamer team  for  hosting me enable me to show it . 

 Please note that you will need to be using a mesh viewer to see the art claudia has created.  The work on Art Screamer is, I believe, one of the first full sim art exhibits that is primarily composed of mesh objects.  I am amazed at what claudia has been able to create and I am sure you will be when you visit.

Claudia told me she will be offering a mesh goodie for all visitors to her exhibit so make sure to look for it while you enjoy Spirit.  The machinima below gives you a hint....

LL says "Calling All Bloggers"

I think it is wonderful that LL wants to incorporate community bloggers into its own marketing and communication materials!  I suggest compensation of 5,000 Linden per post as a start.

Linden Lab is making millions of dollars from us so I wonder why we should donate our content, and give editorial and exclusivity rights to them for free.  I don't understand why bloggers think this "opportunity" is so great.

LL can link to our blogs to highlight work that we put out there every single day.  But then they would not get to edit our words of course. And then they could not claim the right to publish our work first.  Are we that desperate for hits and recognition that we would allow a for profit company to take advantage of us in this way?  I guess so.

Call me cranky but when I write for other people's blogs I get paid.  And, so should you my fellow bloggers.

Art Screamer tease and some random thoughts about social media

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On the subject of virtual art.....

The upcoming exhibit on Art Screamer is so fabulous I am gonna burst.

The artist, who may or may not be Claudia someone or other, may or may not be building incredible things that demonstrate the kinds of detailed art people can create with mesh.  Or not.  You will find out at the end of this month if all goes according to plan.  I can't wait!

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On the subject of social media....

I follow my daughter on social media which is my parental way of trying to protect her and make sure the inevitable teenage drama doesn't get out of hand.  She laughs and politely informs me that not only did she wait 3 months to make her relationship with her boyfriend "Facebook Official"  but some things are meant to be private and the really good stuff happens in IM anyway.  When I got done laughing and having a proud mama moment, I realized there is something instructional in her approach.

Social media makes our connections broad and our relationships immediate. It is amazing to be able to meet people from all over the world and form strong bonds over the expanse of timezones and continents.  At the same time, social media can create a false sense of connection that is betrayed by the reality of individuals alone in the night staring at glowing screens.  It is important not to mistake "friends" for people with whom you share a long term connection.  Online friendships are real and can be long lasting but not all online relationships are true friendship. The distinctions are important.

We all use social media for our own purposes and there is no right or wrong way to use the tools and platforms that seem to procreate like rabbits.  Having said that when people who read your posts, tweets, plurks or whatever begin to express frustration with what you are doing it is time to listen.

Way back when someone fussed at me because I was sending Plurks to Twitter and then not showing up on Twitter to interact with others.  At first I got defensive and basically said "it is my stream and if you don't like it don't read it."  Shortly after my outburst I began to reconsider what I was doing.  Guess what?  I stopped sending my Plurks to Twitter because social media is supposed to be social.  That is, a place to interact with others -- not a place to bombard the world with descriptions of every thought that flits through my peripheral vision or spam from other platforms.

A few years ago someone I know from Second Life plurked something like "I am going to smoke a blunt and then I am going to masturbate. bbiab."  I swear to you I am not making that up.

These days when I read what I have come to think of as "wall o text" social media streams I cannot help myself -- I think about that plurk.  Honestly, I don't want to know every mundane thing that happens in your life nor do I care to share my own minutia with you.

In the words of my wise 15 year old daughter, some things are meant to be private and the really good stuff happens in IM anyway.

LEA #4

I am back to exploring the LEA sims to see what our Tier is supporting.  Today I landed at LEA #4 and had a look around.  My first impression?  "I don't understand this and I don't know how to photograph the work here and I don't even want to blog it either."  Not exactly a good start but I said I was going to blog all 20 LEA sims and blog what I find I will do.

I think I reacted that way because while the theme of interactive work ties the various exhibits on the sim together, the works are all independent and do not visually work together.   So, it took me a while to understand what I was seeing.   When I landed I got the following notecard.

On LEA4: InterACT!, curated by L1Aura Loire/Lori Landay
Opening October 15, 2 pm PDT and exhibiting until January 15, 2012
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA4/21/9/21

Virtual art can invite, or even insist, that you interact with it. The artists in this exhibition cleverly and creatively make art out of interactions between data, objects, actions, and people within and beyond the virtual world in a stunning array of installations and experiences that stretch the possibilities of virtual art. Expect the unexpected, and click whenever you can. #interactLEA Installations by:

Eupalinos Ugajin, "Bateau à planter des îles" ("Islands planting boat") 

Glyph Graves, "Diversity--A Tapestry Spun"

Lorin Tone, "The Sound Garden"

Maya Paris, "soon, soon, quick, quick, soon"

Misprint Thursday, "Is It Real?"

PinkPink Sorbet, "The Beauty of LSL"

Selavy Oh, "The Rules" 

Performances at Senses Places ongoing, and environment always open for you to experience and experiment with wiimote and livestream.  Instructions at the environment.
 Environment open for interaction always.  Get HUD and instructions


WHAT TO DO HERE?
Talk to the InterActor Fishbot for a while here at the entry.  Get and wear a "KinoEye" that will show everyone where your camera is (where you are looking!)  Take an ArtTaxi ride around the exhibition to get an overview of what's here.  Go explore.

Interact in all the installations, and also by:  tweeting about the art show (#interactLEA) and seeing your tweet in the Twitter Cove ; uploading pictures you take of the show to Flickr with the tag interactLEA and seeing them on the Flickr viewer; or make machinima of InterACT! and send the vimeo or youtube url to have it shown on a machinima viewer at the Machinima Pavilion.

As I have said before, I don't usually enjoy places and exhibits that feel like work.  So when I get a notecard that is a wall of text I am often turned off.  I suppose this makes me a lazy art consumer and many artists do not enjoy people like me who want our art to be easy to experience.  I understand that.   So, this post comes with the disclaimer "Chestnut is a lazy lazy art blogger who does not want to read long notecards to figure out the discordant collection of work on this sim"

Now that is out of the way, I will say I enjoyed my visit. The works on LEA #4 are interactive so I found myself flying and hearing music and twirling about.  I do very much enjoy art that insists that I be part of the work and in fact interactive art may be my favorite kind of virtual art.  I was trained well by the NPIRL artists that I encountered way back when I first came to SL.  I click everything just to see what it does.  You do this too, right?

 It is often hard to photograph interactive works well but I gave it a go.

The work that currently lives on LEA #4 was supposed to end on January 15th.  I have no idea how long these works will be available so scoot!  Go see!

"All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie" Bob Dylan

All in all today was a strange day.

I was contacted by someone I know only in the vaguest of social media ways, which is to say not at all.  You know how it is -- someone travels similar circles so you become "friends" but if you were to drop a stone in still water and you were the stone, this person would be 5 or 6 or 10 rings away from you.   You add each other on twitter and maybe you respond to each other once in a while or maybe you don't but you know their name and they know yours and that is about the extent of it  Perhaps you have an impression of them and if you are, say...me....they think they know you because you happen to blog and that gives people the impression they know you.  I mean me.

Are you still there?

Anyway this person messaged me and wanted me to help him understand a conflict between other people, one of whom is a very good friend of mine.  Ummm, I politely declined to comment because he wanted to know if what he was being told was "the truth."  I suggested he talk to the people involved as I could not possibly know "the truth."  He understood and that was that.

Except it wasn't because it is something like 8 hours later and I am still thinking about "truth" and what that really means when it comes to human beings who engage in relationships online.

It is so easy to misrepresent things on the internet and we all have examples of events where things were not as they seemed.  Over time I have gotten a little jaded I suppose and now when someone tells me a story about their life I nod, smile and take it at face value.  Maybe what they say is real and maybe it isn't but honestly I will probably never be able to confirm the facts. Funny enough, the more time I spend online the more comfortable I am with not knowing "the truth."