just ignore and let this one die

Thank you for reassuring an old man that people are still making real music out there. It's so discouraging as you get older when you don't have time to know what's going on with newer music and all you get to know about is pop blandness.

Wikipedia says this group formed in Nashville in my backyard! Who knew?

I like this sound, especially the bass. I think I'll buy their album. (I hope that doesn't make them less cool now. )

I haven't bought an album myself in years (probably since the spice girls - I think I was 10) yet listening to their stuff has made me really want to go out and get it.
When I got told he'd bought tickets for a gig for a band which wasn't as well known I kinda thought I wouldn't enjoy the music, but I'm really excited about goign seeing them. They sound great!

And no, you buying the album doesn't make them less cool, but more.

/me surveys with dismay and regret the damage of last night . . .


Yeah. I didn't delete the post, just the pic. Which I shouldn't have done, even though Pep was right: it is NOT a good pic. SL was giving me fits last night; I got tossed out of Caledon (which went down for a short while I think?) in the middle of changing, and then the app kept crashing whenever I tried to take a snap. I got flustered and irritated, ended up settling for a shot that was meh, and didn't even notice the boot problem in my hurry just to get the damned thing up.


And yeah, I did let Pep get to me. Shame on me indeed.

Laurin and Mo, you are both wonderful sweethearts. Thank you.

And now Pep:

You're right, I didn't take the pic (which is not very good, indeed) down to accommodate you. I took it down because you managed to make me feel embarrassed about it. As Brenda says, shame on me.

I didn't take it down after you pointed out the boot problem: that was fair comment, and rather funny. I took it down after you suggested that "it wasn't much of a vanity shot." I agree with that, actually, but that doesn't make THAT observation fair comment: it was subjective and frankly a bit mean-spirited. But my reaction to it was dumb. My embarrassment this morning is less over the quality of the pic, than over letting you get to me like that.

I'd say it won't happen again, but it probably will: part of what I am is my emotions. In fact, some of the things that I like most about myself derive from my emotions. Yeah, they can be unpredictable and often wrong. But I, and the people I've come to like best here and in RL, would be pretty hollow beings without them.

This is somewhat closer to the effect I was originally going for, although this pic is not a great one either, really. The pose is so-so, and the lighting is meh. It was taken a while ago in a Scottish sim called Ayreshire, which I was trying unsuccessfully to find last night; I think it may be gone.

But I sort of like the Flora-MacDonald-waiting-for-Bonnie-Prince-Charlie effect . . .



Pep, publish and be damned.

So are you gonna go over to Lias' and let people eat turkey off of you? Just wondering.

Looks great Scylla. Even though you look like a "sea widow" waiting for her sailor to come home. Probably not the look you were going for, but what I see.

You sound a little hopeful, Chris!




Heh, sure. Close enough! Thanks.

Wait, wait. There are worthy and *un*worthy vanity shots? Who knew?

/me resists the urge to post a spate of ancient jaggedy vanity shots taken on the wretched lappie with ancient integrated Intel graphics, before she thought about composition.

/me was never good at resisting.

/me rubs all the bottles and lamps in the house to see if I can get you to pop out.

THIS is an "ancient jaggedy vanity shot"????

I need to work on cultivating "ancient" and "jaggedy."

Thanks Mo, you enjoy your day too. (Just a light trim, right?)



I love it. It has sort of a combination Grant Woods-Norman Rockwell feel to it.



What a beautiful kitty in a rainbow.



Hug, hug, hug, Weston. Have a wonderful weekend.



You have a great day Treasure. I hope you sleep really well tonight!



I depend on young people to tell me what little I know about contemporary music. Since my kids moved out and I stopped going to the gym I really don't hear new stuff much. Thanks Claire. It'll be interesting to hear how they are in person.

Very nice colors, composition, and feel. Beautiful subject.

Thank you

Torley's photo hints are aimed mostly at impressive panoramic views using high-end equipment. Taking shots with a horrible PC limits you in ways that are helpful even with good equipment. I did fashion photography on that lappie for about a year.

Things I learned when taking vanity shots with that lappie:

> Limit the background to something very plain, and even with no antialiasing the jaggies are minimized. Put lots of plants and stuff in the shot, and your PCs weaknesses will show.

> Rez distance 24m is your friend. So are skyboxes with NOTHING around them.

> Avatars look good in closeup.

> Get poses that limit motion and focus the eyes. Even freebie ones (which that one is) can be used to advantage.

> Shaders OFF can be helpful if you're doing closeups ... avatars still look more reliably decent without windlight; positioning sepia or other color light-emitting cubes around gets better results.

p.s. Skell's shots in this thread were good examples of what happens when you follow these rules on GOOD equipment (his fashion sense also is AMAZING). I miss those shots ... anyone know where he went?

All this matches my experience,Nika. When I do want to photograph an avatar in front of a view I usually snap them separately with very different settings and then superimpose the one in front of the other. The more gaphics features they add to SL the more pathetic my pc gets.

Is that steam coming out of your ears?

Pep (You did ask . . .)

Yes.

Wow! I knew there was a reason I had stocked up on lamps!!



Hmmmm.. yummy! sexy and rainbows!! *scritches the sexy kitty*



Your pictures are never unnecessary!! And yes, they have to see me first since I'll be covering you like chocolate! *grins*

Is it just me, or do you look like you are about to overbalance forward due to the weight of those jugs?

Pep (You too need a linebacker's thighs to provide a counterweight.)

You have her confused with Litta. This avatar is fairly slight, bust is under 50%, I think 42? Skin shading can be deceiving.

I am feeling much better today. Yesterday I was feeling like death warmed over ...


Clover and I playing around at the zombiefest

(Litta's bimbtastic shape was created as a joke, then just stayed that way)

When I used to take and post pics of myself, I would take one or two dozen pictures for each picture posted. I didn't count; I just went through every angle that seemed worthwhile. For example, I'd start from way up high on the left, work my way across, tilt down a little, work my way back, going back and forth ever lower until I ran out of interesting angles.

Then I'd go through the pictures, deleting the ones that had big obvious defects, closed eyes, bad expressions, etc. I'd keep going through until I was left with 1-3, and then I'd try to edit out the one good part.

No picture (at least that *I* could take) in SL is ever perfect. Every picture I posted had something in it that I wished I could fix. But for that moment, that was the best I could do.

Lemania's latest low lag skin -- Pumpkin Glitter. These are awesome for various hunts where places get really lagged. I'm wearing the skin, my shape, eyes, and a bald base:




.

OMG - I love it.

I went to New Babbage and picked up a "Airship Pilot Urchin Outfit" and walked around town a bit. This is up in the Steam-Powered Treehouse, and I chatted for a while with a nice lady at the top.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/New%20Babbage/128/164/116/

I'm having some trouble getting used to Picasa. I don't seem to be able to make the pictures the size that I want. Picasa has it's own ideas!