Dear Erik,

...I missed you, especially on my birthday, today.  

It's sincerely unfair that you left Earth without me having one last meaningful visit with you.  I wish to hell and back that I had tried to contact your brother when my Dad first gave me his number, some few, odd years ago.  

You are now the 2nd person who's left, without me knowing, until at least a year later ...which is completely FUBAR.  

I sincerely believe things would've turned out quite different if I had attempted to refind you more intensely, instead of simply relying on email... You never responded/acknowledged that I changed my email address, I guess I thought you were just as busy as I was with unfinished projects... and, well, fuck 2013 - 2015 (and shit beyond) for all of that too.  

I could've maybe convinced you to see my new house.  One room here, could likely fit my WHOLE apartment inside it!  ...I think I could've also convinced you to see the midlife crisis car.  ...Or maybe I could have just simply gone to see you.  Fuck.  ...At any rate, it may have been reinforced that you still had an anchor, and vice-versa, and maybe you'd still fucking be here.  Humans are stupid and selfish.  

Speaking of such, thank you for coming to my rescue when you did, and for sticking around for as long as you could.  It's odd that our family will "fight to the death over who makes the best stuffing," to the point where I didn't even know you or your side of the family until I was a teenager.  I'm particularly fond of everything you did and how you were.  From the first time we met, and you reflected your laser light on a crystal...  To the smashed pumpkin walk to Inner Journeys, where I got to tell you about all the radio DJs.  Neopets, which taught and gave me everything.  All the 12+ hour phone calls.  All the weekend runaway visits.  ALL the think-tank bullshit conversations that made drives around Hollyweird somehow end up in front of ridiculously named places like Jumbo's Clown Room, LMAO.  And all the emails I managed to save, that I just reread, am thankful for, and wish there were more of  ...You are the shit.

I totally drew you perfectly in my high school math book, as some sorta secret shrine, and passed the idea of hope back into the pool of angst, without ever looking back.  I think it is fucking glorious how your mind worked.  The fact that you man-overboarded into the Puget Sound to let them know how serious you were about quitting the Navy, to be with your wife.  The fact that you wanted to live like a Taoist and find yourself.  The fact that nobody really understood or appreciated it all ...I do not think ppl like us are necessarily meant for this world anyway.

So I am glad that you won't have to endure any more fuckery, but I'm happy it inadvertently made you a godsend.  I fucking miss you.  You're a complete asshat for leaving this last decade vacant.  And I'm a complete fuckup for not knowing how to listen to you until it's too late.  ...Tell your Mom and Dad I said hi and that I miss them too.  Also look for my RL Mom's sister, my last surrogate Mom that I briefly told you about, Bakki, and Kit-Kat too.  

And now I realize where all those pennies and missing pairs of clothing in the wash came from, this past year and a half.

-Babe

---> I can't fucking read this!

Townies: 2019 Easter Town

...Where the fun multiplies like bunnies!

Yup!

Townies is a fun group of people that decorate an entire sim/region, dedicated to holiday themes (such as Easter, Halloween, Valentines' Day, St. Patrick's Day, & probably more according to their Flickr page).

This is their ---> group <--- Previously and currently free to join.
Or you can copy/paste the following into nearby chat for a clickable link  ---> secondlife:///app/group/7ecd7ffb-ed50-c5c2-baec-0b4df3d54264/about

I have run out of group space (long ago), so a few years ago, I joined their Subscribr, to get cool little announcements in nearby chat and other cool things like LMs sent to me.  Although, I didn't actually see the Subscribr out this year, you can probably contact Laura Liberty or one of the other helpers to hit it, tho!  This time the helpers consisted of tina (tanyja), Acehole Ixito, &
- ̗̀ Bean  ̖́- (greenbeangirl).

This is where the fun was at this weekend (and quite possibly just a few more days until they start redecorating for Halloween Town):
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Townies/123/121/23
...Yup, sorry for the late post, that's RL for ya!

Each year (and I believe at every event), they have a free hunt.

This year, Easter Town did something different. The first 5 eggs were golden eggs only available to group members.  The rest of the eggs were available to everyone.  I didn't realize this at first, I actually thought the golden eggs were just random group joiners (because you can touch the bows to join the group)... so my thanks go to Tina for helping me find them all again last minute!

To start with, you are given a pretty cute egg collecting knapsack to wear (although, they call it an Easter Egg Hunting Backpack).

Prize #1 is a wearable Sun Balloon that animates your avatar to float up and down and kinda kick a little bit (like, wow, we're lifting, wheEeEee!).

Prize #2 is Easter Bunny Block Decor.

LI 3, convex hull (so I'm assuming mesh).

Prize #3 is a Follow The Carrot Stick wearable.

Prize #4 is Sunny Bunny Glasses.

The ones I'm wearing are purple, but you also get them in blue, yellow, and pink.

Prize #5 is a wearable Yolks On You.

...I still think mine is better!

One year I even added it to the tip of my tail and yolked all over everybody, LMAO!

Prize #6 is Easter Peep Wall Decor.

LI 3, prim, but does look mesh, as it is 3D.

Prize #7 is Hop On Bunny Decor.

LI 1, convex hull, so probably mesh.

Prize #8 is a wearable Spring Dandelion Float that twirls you around and around and poofs bits of dandelion seeds.

Prize #9 is a Hello Easter Spring Doormat.

LI 1, prim, but it still looks 3D.

Prize #10 is a wearable Easter Bunny Peep Necklace.

Modifiable (so yes resizable, and color may be changed by selecting face -and only if you are good at the color wheel to deal with whatever texture came as is).

Prize #11 is Easter Bunny Decor.

LI 1, convex hull, probably mesh because it does look 3D.

Prize #12 is New Bunny Bean Bag (11 animations).

LI 5, prim.

Really, it's 9 animations...

"Side Lean"

"Relaxed"

"Legs Up"

"Laid Back"

"Curl Up"

"Comfy"

"Casual"

"Bored"

 & "Side Sit"

Prize #13 is Easter Egg Cups.

LI 2, prim, but most likely mesh.

Prize #14 is Spring Boots Daisy Planter.

LI 3, prim, but 3D.

Prize #15 are wearable Easter Bunny Footprints (for both your left and right).

Makes pretty pink tracks when you walk around!

Prize #16 are wearable Air Ribbon Brushes (for both your left and right).

Makes pretty glowing ribbons wherever your hands go... particularly pretty when you're typing! 

Prize #17 is a wearable Egg Thrower.

If you go into mouse-look & click, you throw some eggs at ppl that splatter!

That egg I threw broke, gave a yolk, and the pieces rolled around and around ...very amusing!

Prize #18 is a wearable Carry You Chick.

This comes in kid and adult size!

Prize #19 is a wearable Moody Egg Head.

And prize #20 is a wearable Bun Gun.

If you go into mouse-look and click, you shoot some Thumper bunnies that slowly twirl and hop!

Hooray for griefer gifts that are friendly, LOL!

Area search is useless this year, as they named all the eggs random names.  But the helpers are pretty nice, so good luck!

Shopping consisted of the usual things... In fact, I saw a couple of outfits I bought last year, but also lots of new things too.

This is the sexy dress that really sparked my attention... and fortunately, it's available on the MP, so I can save those L$ for Fantasy Faire (which just HAD to happen at the same time as this, this year)!

There was also an egg making contest.

I participated in 2016, but I made the mistake of making my object modifiable, so they took out the particles without me knowing.  Needless to say, I never participated again.  And they have now made it a rule to not have any activity in the final product (the rule before was to just not use scripts -to which I followed, as an animated object will stay animated even without scripts, unless a scrubber is used).  So if managers have the ability to modify contest participant's objects without informing them of doing so, it got me thinking that perhaps the contest may have been rigged.  ...Oh, well, tough noogies to principles and congrats to the in-crowd!

I haven't sold it or anything, like Samael has with his... But if I were to, I would make the wings flap, and make there be the same cluster of bats in the bottom egg's texture, to give the appearance of depth.  Perhaps more sparkily depth to the heart jewel too!


To give good credit, where credit is due, tho...
They did have some pretty amazing eggs this year from some really experienced creators...

I think the reason why the last one won overall, is because no matter where you turned your camera, it looked like a snow-globe.  This is probably done similarly by path cutting a sphere, selecting face & texturing the inside with a solid texture ... Then select face on the outside and make texture transparent ... Also put 2% on the transparency in the build window ... Select full bright in the texture tab ... Then close the sphere back up.  ...Additionally, this was a pretty dramatic monochrome.  And conceptual art with the tree growing from an egg, and growing eggs itself (matryoshka doll like).  And throw some butterflies in there for Spring, and what do you know?

I tried to take pictures of the other conceptual art eggs, but it's very hard to grab what the artist is trying to communicate with that green bleacher background and the cluster of egg decorating participants.  All I can say is that you need to go see it for yourself next time!

Meanwhile, here's some pix of other amusing things I saw!

This was on the race track... Peepzilla eating cars, LOL!

Bad eggs got thrown here, and splattered onto the ground, LOL!

Someone dedicated 3 avatars to this band of eggs!

A giant jar of jellybeans around the corner from the Peep show --er, I mean the Peep race!

And here's more of the pretty town, in case you missed it!










Not to mention lots of freebies, ways to walk around creatively (like in bubbles, carrot cars, hot air balloons), and lots of interactive experiences (like placing your photographs on the display cart).

If you missed this, you don't want to miss the next one - or the next holiday town from Townies!!!  Go, go, sign up, be involved, the spirit of season can be celebrated with your SL family too!!!


Also written about, in The SL Newser.
...I wish I still wrote for them professionally, but you know, I just couldn't keep up with making one of these fabulous articles a week -especially around RL, OMG no, LOL!!!

---> I can't fucking read this!